Thomas Sopwith : with excerpts from his diary of fifty-seven years

DIARY AND LIFE OF T. SOPWITH

B. W. RICHARDSON

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

THOMAS SOPWITH, M.A., C.E., F.R.S.

m

Thomas Sopwith,

M.A., O.E., F.R.S.

WITH EXCERPTS FROM HIS DIARY OF
FIFTY-SE I rEN \ EARS.

BENJAMIN WARD RICHARDSON,

M.D., LL.D., F.E.S.

"Here is a dear, u true industrious friend"

I. Henry IV.

LONDON :

LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO.

1891.

Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London aiid Aylesbury.

CT
STI2.K3

GO
MRS. DAVID CHADWICK,

NEE

(URSULA) SOPWITH,

the custodian op her beloved father's diary,

this volume is inscribed,

with the sincerest regards

of her old and attached friend,

Benjamin Ward Richardson.

1G7EC83

PKEFACE

JT has long been known through the wide
circle of his friends and acquaintances that
the late Mr. Thomas Sopwith left at his
death a remarkable Diary. Two years ago
the members of his family, who had the Diary in their
charge, requested me, as an old friend of Mr. Sopwith,
to make a study of the work, with the view of preparing
from it a modest treatise of some four hundred pages
at most, to include, with a brief life of its author,
excerpts of some of the incidents which he has recorded.
With all the diligence I could command I have here-
with carried out the task entrusted to me, in the hope of
keeping alive the memory of one of the most estimable,
able, and honest Englishmen to whom the nineteenth
century has given birth.

25, Manchester Square, W.
June lth, 1891.

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. A Personal Introduction 1

II. A Diary of Fifty-Seven Years 9

III. Commencement of a Long Career 13

IV. Early Authorship 21

V. A Severe Illness. Contributions of Social Facts

and Antiquities 26

VI. A Visit to Scotland. Sir Walter Scott. Professor
Wilson ("Christopher North"). The Brothers
Chambers. Flodden Field 32

VII. Marriage. Burning of York Minster. Bereavement 43

VIII. From Newcastle-on-Tyne to London . . . .50

IX. London Sixty Years Ago, from a Northumbrian's
First View. National Repository of Arts.
Greenwich Hospital. London Curiosities . . 58

X. Second Marriage. Work as a Civil Engineer. Early
Travelling by Rail. Election as a Member of
the Institute of Civil Engineers. The Eoman
Wall 83

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE

XL Surveys in Dean Forest. Thoughts on Electoral
Methods for Parliament. Professor John
Phillips 95

XII. Engineering Experiences. Newcastle as a Rail-
way Centre 105

XIII. A Memorable Dinner. Count St. Aldegonde.
Eussia as a Mining Field. Choice Books.
Artists and Scientists. The Queen at Guild-
hall 110

XIV. New Friends, New Thoughts, New Scenes . . 133

XV. Ireland and the Irish 146

XVI. A Day in Oxford. Dr. Buckland and Mr. John

Ruskin 1G2

XVII. Love of Travelling. Mr. Babbage and the Cal-
culating Machine. Lessons in Astronomy . l«.7

XVIII. Clegg's Atmospheric Railway. Mrs. Robertson.
Sir Francis Chantrey. The " Great Western "
Steamboat. Reminiscences 176

XIX. A Meeting of Celebrities. Liebig, Buckland,
Daubeny, Ruskin, Playfair, and Dalton. A
Tour in Yorkshire. The Armstrong Hydro-
electric Machine. Telford Medallist . .1^7

XX. Home Incidents. A Visit to Boulogne. Rights

in Dean Forest. A Visit to Belgium , .194

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGK

XXI. Some Engineering Celebrities. Rowland Hill.
Railways in Brussels. King Leopold. George
Stephenson. West Flanders .... 207

XXII. A Change of Career 223

XXIII. Residence at Allenheads. Mr. Robert Chambers.

Death op Mrs. Sopwith. Professor Faraday.
The Armstrong Gun 234

XXIV. Hartwell House. Meteorological Studies. Rain-

fall. Tour to Egypt 245

XXV. Resignation at Allenheads and Residence in
London. A Retrospect. Deaths of Brunel
and Robert Stephenson. Musical Pitch. A
London Music Hall 260

XXVI. Return to Allenheads. Mr. Disraeli. Meteoro-
logical Organisations. Foundation of United
Kingdom Alliance. Sir James Kay-Shuttle-
worth and mr. henry cole. death of the
Prince Consort 276

XXVII. Bright and Cobden. Bishop Colenso. Cyrus
Field. A Spanish Workman. A Spanish Bull-
Fight. Twenty Years of Reminiscences . 289

XXVIII. Sixty-Third Birthday. Anatomy of Strikes.

Foreign Workmen. Further Reminiscences . 309

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE

XXEK. A Tour in Italy. Memorial to Edward Potter.
Death op Mrs. Somerville. E. W. Cooke, R.A.
Thomas Tate, C.E. The Hooper Electric
Cable 326

XXX. Some Events op Half a Century. The Leeds
Conversation Club. Thoughts on Genius and
Energy. William Chambers. Dean Stanley.
Emperor of Brazil. The Close op the Diary 350

XXXI. Memoranda and Literary Notes. The Glacial
Theory. Ascent of Chamounix. Gibbon and
Lausanne. Calvin and Humphry Davy. Roman
Baths at Treves. Mining at Freiberg. A
Geological Pioneer. Church of the Fool of
the Forest. Danish Watchman's Curfew . 361

XXXII. Personal Recollections of Mr. Sopwith. Last

Illness and Death 375

INDEX ~ 383

THOMAS SOPWITH, RR.S.

CHAPTER I.

A PERSONAL INTRODUCTION.

>N the month of September 1856 it was my
good fortune to receive an invitation from
the late Dr. John Lee, LL.D., President of
the Royal Astronomical Society, to form one
of a company of scientific visitors who were to meet at
his residence at Hartwell Park, near to Aylesbury. It
was the fancy of the good Doctor to bring together, from
time to time, a considerable number of men whose lives
were devoted to the advancement of science, and to enter-
tain them, not for a day merely, but for several clays,
so that they might get to know each other in the most
friendly manner, and might discuss together, without
hurry or excitement, those matters of practical and theo-
retical science which were at the moment engaging the
attention of the scientific world. I remember that my
invitation extended to fourteen days, but it was so
arranged that any visitor who might have to leave for
the day could do so and could return again. Carriages
met every train in order to bring the visitors to the
mansion, and carriages were despatched to every train
with those who were leaving the mansion. In short,
everything was made as free and homely as was possible.

1

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

During the visit in September 1856, to which I refer,
as many as from thirty to forty visitors were brought into
communion with each other, establishing acquaintances
and friendships of lifelong duration. We were repre-
sentatives of so many branches of sciences that we used
to speak of ourselves, in a jocular way, as a British
Association, in miniature, for the amusements of science.
However, we did in some degree resemble the real
British Association, by meeting every morning, under
the presidency of Dr. Lee, in the library of Hartwell
House, and holding a formal sitting. Mr. Samuel
Horton, Dr. Lee's private secretary, read the minutes
of the previous meeting, which the President confirmed,
and then some one of the company was called upon —
often without a word of preparation — to treat on a subject
with which he was presumed to be familiar, and so to
express himself that what he said could be discussed
afterwards. These conditions, difficult to sustain, led
occasionally to a great deal of embarrassment, mixed
always with a compensatory dose of fun and good
humour, and sometimes followed by the communication
of useful information, which was none the less pleasant
because of the piquancy incident to a little merriment
and unexpected light of knowledge.

At one of these morning meetings I found myself by
the side of a visitor who, up to that time, was unknown
to me, but whose bright, genial smile soon made me
happy in the acquirement of a new acquaintance who
promised to be of the best sort. We began conversation,
mutually, by discussing what was to be the subject of the
coming debate, when the Doctor rose, and, after inform-
ing us that nothing had been arranged, said he was snre
some one would volunteer a paper, or a suggestion that
would lead to one. For a time no one did offer or

A PERSONAL INTRODUCTION.

suggest anything, and at last the length of the pause
seemed to say no subject, therefore a dissolution. In
sheer fun I whispered to my new companion, who was
very much my senior, " Why not pro])ose the financial
state of the Peruvians ? " He took up the suggestion
with delight, and, in the slyest manner, rose to say,
" Mr. President, my young friend here suggests, as a
capital topic, The Financial State of the Peruvians." The
proposal led to a general laugh, in which Captain, after-
wards Admiral, Fitzroy joined so heartily that some
thought it had reference to one or other of his adventures
in one of his famous voyages, then the talk of the day.
The laugh ended in another period of silence, and the
President began to get quite uneasy, when, as luck would
have it, there appeared fresh on the scene a new visitor.
The Doctor seized the fact and worked it gloriously.
The new visitor, Mr. Thomas Dobson, if my memory is
not at fault, was a merchant, and knew all about curren-
cies. Called upon, therefore, by the President to ojDen a
debate on the subject named, he accepted the duty in the
most artless manner, and in twenty minutes told us more
about Peru and its financial position than we had ever
heard of in the whole course of our lives. The success
was complete. Mr. Dobson got a hearty and well-
deserved vote of thanks for his instructive narrative ;
and, shame to say, according to a common accident of
getting honours thrust upon one, my new friend carried
a vote of thanks to me " for the happy thought which
had led to so excellent and so practical a discourse."

On the break-up of the meeting, my new companion
joined me in the other events of the day, and I found in
him one of the most delightful of associates. He was, it
turned out, about thirty years my senior, but he was so
young of heart that it did not seem possible for him to

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

be more than a fellow-pupil or schoolfellow of a past
day belonging to an older form than mine. There was
a quaint humour in him, also, which at once conveyed
amusement and information. He told excellent stories,
grave and gay, and he varied the part of a story-teller
with that of a wise and philosophical teacher so readily
that he seemed to have the power of changing his whole
nature with a facility I had, at that time, never before
seen, and have not many times seen since. But the
most striking feature of all was the width and depth of
his information on every conceivable subject. He had
travelled extensively, and he had taken such careful
notes of all he had observed, and had fixed his ob-
servations so thoroughly in his mind, that what he
told rose before the listener as if it were seen as well
as heard. Some one said of him that he was a cyclo-
paedia of information. " Yes," said Mr. James Glaisher,
who formed one of our party, "but he is a cyclopaedia
alive and kicking ; " and the remark was duly recognised
as true.

As I did not know to what profession or calling my new
companion belonged, I made a kind of speculative study
in order to guess the fact from his conversation. In pass-
ing through the mansion he spoke freely and correctly
of its architecture, and compared the style so ' clearly by
the side of another similar building which I accidentally
referred to, that I took him to be an architect ; but later
on it occurred to me that he might be a Professor of
Mathematics, for he had all kind? of calculations of the
most curious nature at his finger ends, — how many
generations of men it would take to cover, with their
feet, every point of the surface of the earth : how many
<jci)crations to make a raised block or terrestrial accretion
of men, to rub shoulders with the man in the moon ;

A PERSONAL INTRODUCTION.

how many centuries had passed since the whole popu-
lation of England was represented round one family
hearth. That he was a first-class arcluuologist was
also quite clear ; and that he was well up in flint and
geological specimens was equally obvious. To this he
added° a knowledge of many details of history. Thus in
regard to Hartwell House itself he told me it was famous
as having been for a time the residence of Louis XVIII.
and his household. Our good host, Dr. Lee, had told
us at breakfast a few facts, of a preliminary kind,
regarding this residence of the king ; but in a walk
through the grounds my new friend told me many
more.° He was old enough to remember the period
when this last royal and crowned descendant of St. Louis
was a resident here. He remembered the incidents
told of the return of the king to France after the
banishment of Napoleon I. to Elba ; how the king
leaving Hartwell was accompanied by the English Prince
Regent, afterwards George IV., to Dover, and by the
Duke of Clarence, afterwards King William IV., to
Paris ; and how the long-exiled king on landing upon the
French coast pressed the Duchess of Angouleme to his
heart, and exclaimed, " I hold again the crown of my
ancestors : if it were of roses, I would place it on your
head ; as it' is of thorns it is for me to wear it."
After luncheon my new friend and I— for I may now
venture to place him on my list of friends— took a
walk to the Vicarage at Stone, a village near by, to see
the Rev. J. B. Reade, F.R.S., a most able man of science,
and a Vicar in the Church of England— a modern Hales
in science. We found the Vicar busy at work on a new
equatorial telescope of large size, which he had himself
constructed. We were admitted into his laboratory, and
were shown the new work he had accomplished in the art

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

of photography, in the development of which he had
taken a leading part. Once more I was struck by the
knowledge of my companion. He was technically
acquainted with the construction and use of telescopes,
and brought out, to our pleasure, a sketch he had made
on the previous night of the passage of the moons of the
planet Jupiter, as seen through the fine instrument in the
observatory at Hartwell.

The possession of all these learned faculties in one
individual was, naturally, a marvel to me, a young and
inexperienced man ; and my wonder was intensified, as
we journeyed back to Hartwell, by the knowledge which
my companion showed of men as well as of events and
things. I said that I understood Robert Stephenson was
to join us at dinner, and asked my friend if he knew
Mr. Stephenson. Know him ? Yes ; he knew not only
Robert, but the famous father of Robert, the great George,
the "Pater Locomotorum" who took, so to say, the
steam-engine out of the hands of James Watt and
turned it into the all but living locomotive. Then we
got on to a splendid topic of conversation. Here was
a man who with his own eyes had witnessed the develop-
ment of the art of steam locomotion into practice ; one
who had seen it start in the mines, who had been carried
down the Thames in one of the first steamers, and who
had been present when one of the first great lines of rail
was opened for public use. The whole was told so well,
and with such natural truth and force, that we had got
back to our destination before I was conscious of having
traversed the distance between Stone and Hartwell.
We parted on the terrace to go and dress for dinner.
On my return to the terrace I saw Captain Fitzroy,
wandering slowly with his hands behind him, in one
of his thoughtful moods. Catching sight of me, he

A PERSONAL INTRODUCTION. 7

came up and invited me to take a short stroll until
the dinner-bell should ring. He was rather depressed,
and asked me one or two questions of a professional kind,
which being answered to his satisfaction our conversation
turned on Hartwell and the present meeting. I told
him of the remarkable man who had been with me to
Stone, and described him to the best of my ability ; — a
rather short and stont man, with large head, broad
forehead, full features, bluish-grey eyes, kindly smile,
and though obviously a northern man, yet of gentle
speech ; a man whose practical knowledge seemed to
be universal.

" He is a capital meteorologist," said Captain Fitzroy ;
" Mr. Glaisher and he are great allies ; and we three have
been discussing barometers, with the idea of finding out
the best methods for making a cheap barometer for popular
use."

" You know him, then, pretty well ? "

" No, not much more than you do yourself. I
happened to travel with him part of the journey here ;
and as we found ourselves coming to the same place
and with the same intents, we got into friendly con-
versation, and I, like yourself, was quite surprised with
the breadth of his knowledge. He is one of those men
who are not only widely informed, but accurately in-
formed also, — a rare combination."

" Very rare, I should think. But what is his name ? "

" Mr. Glaisher casually introduced us, but Dr. Lee
introduced me to him formally as Mr. Thomas Sopwith,
Fellow of the Royal Society ; for the Doctor, as you know,
never forgets the full titles belonging to his guests."

" What is his occupation ? " I enquired. " I have
made many guesses about that."

" And what is your best guess ? I am curious to

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

know, because I went through the same process of
speculation for a considerable time."

" 1 took him first for an architect, next for a mathe-
matical teacher or professor, but now I think he has to
do with the manufacture of steam-engines or some other
mechanical art on a large scale."

" And I took him for a professor of some mechanical
branch of study also. But we are both a little away
from the precise fact : he is really a mining engineer,
and is the superintendent or chief of the greatest lead
mines in the world, the headquarters being at Allen-
heads, in Northumberland."

And so, at last, I knew my new companion by name
and profession, as well as by sight. I little thought
then how often I should have to write the name, and
hear the pleasant voice, in succeeding long years.
Least of all did I think that the time would come
when it would be my task to write a memoir of him
and his works. At the moment I had to think of
something very different ; for we had wandered far
away from the house, and there was the dinner-bell
ringing sharply. Captain Fitzroy, a sailor governed by
the strictest views of discipline, was startled.

" We must return," he said quickly ; and he hurried
me on with such speed that we were unable to sustain
our conversation, even about so pleasant a subject as
our new associate, Thomas Sopwith, F.R.S., Mining-
Engineer ; practical scholar in men, events, things ;
and Northumbrian to the backbone.

CHAPTER II.

A DIARY OF FIFTY-SEVEN YEARS.

iNE of the most interesting and original
features in the career of Mr. Sopwith,
whose life and works 1 am now beginning
to relate, is that he kept a Diary which
extended over the long period of nearly two generations,
namely, from the year 1822 to 1S79, fifty-seven years.
The diary consists of no fewer than one hundred and
sixty-eight small neatly and strongly bound volumes
and of three large volumes. Each entry is remarkable
for the accuracy with which it is written, for the clear-
ness of its style, and for the beauty of its penmanship.
The pages read like the old manuscripts of the best
kind, which came from the scriptorium, before the
printer's art was known ; and so carefully is even-
entry made, that throughout a whole volume there
will not be found a single mistake or erasure. As to
a blot, that were a thing impossible ; I believe there
is not one in all the series.

The mode in which these diaries were commenced is
recorded by Mr. Sopwith in the first of the small
series of volumes, written in 1828. When about twelve
years of age, he says, he had a peculiar aptitude for
descriptive writing, and amused himself with recording-
various data relative to the history and antiquities of
Newcastle. At thirteen he copied a map of the Roman

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

wall for Mr. Dalton, " an itinerant but highly respectable
and able lecturer." He also wrote out, at this early
period of his life, a series of notes on astronomical
subjects, derived from the best sources of information
attainable by him, with descriptions of observations he
had made from a plain astronomical telescope constructed
by himself, 'aided by a few opportunities of seeing and
using a tolerably good instrument belonging to his
schoolmaster, Mr. Henry Atkinson. In this same period
of adolescence, he began to take notes of and draw up
catalogues of coins and mineral specimens, employing, in
his observations on the mineral specimens, a small
microscope which, like his telescope, was constructed
with his own hands.

From this methodical line of work he fell, naturally
enough, into the way of keeping notes of his time,
and of the details of his occupation ; following, in this
respect, although probably quite unconsciously, the plan
adopted in his early days by the famous Dr. Benjamin
Franklin, a man, of all others I have read of, the
most like himself in tone and character. It was not,
however, until the year 1821 that he began a journal
in a regular and permanent form. Then he was so
fortunate, as he deemed it, as to obtain two or three
account books or ledgers of considerable size, and con-
taining a much longer space for writing than he had
the means of getting in any new book, — manuscript books
being at that time luxuries which we, of this day, can
scarcely realize. Regardless of the red line for sums,
he used these books for the purposes of his journal,
and Volume I. of the series covered an interval extending
from October 28th, 1821, to June 2nd, 1828.

The father of Mr. Sopwith was a builder in Newcastle,
carrying on a good business, and he, working in-

A DIARY OF FIFTY-SEVEN YEARS. H

dustriously, with Ms eye directed towards engineering
as his vocation through life, commenced his labours
at six in the morning and continued them until six at
night, with half an hour for breakfast and an hour for
dinner. He had, therefore, not much time to expend on
a journal, and, as he tells us, the details he had to enter
were "of necessity trivial." Yet he found not only
pleasure but advantage in the task, since it tended to fix
his attention on different objects, enabled him to assist
his memory by reference to a correct record made at
the time, prevented him from depending on vague
recollections, and, by inducing regularity of habit,
increased the facility he possessed, naturally, of express-
ing himself precisely in descriptive writing. Two other
good results followed the practice, namely, that the very
occupation of writing led him to reflect on what he had
recorded, and brought up the events of the past day,
week, or month, to undergo, as it were, a formal review,
which, in its turn, as an exercise of mind, induced a
desire so to act, at all times, that he might feel a
satisfaction from it whenever he came to the duty of
recording what he was doing, or of reading what he
had done. Those who knew Mr. Sopwith as I did will
recall how notably this habit of order, learned so
thoroughly in the commencement of his career, availed
him all through his long life. He was the very soul of
order and of exactitude, and came, I think, the nearest to
the truth in all he said and did of any man I have ever
known. I would not pretend, and I am sure he would
have been the last to wish me to pretend, that this was
from any particular goodness on his part. There was,
no doubt, goodness in it and of it, but it was really a
habit of accuracy, grafted upon a sound natural veracity.
Many men perfectly truthful by nature are led away

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

from tlie truth by a habit of loose observation on matters
of fact. They trust entirely to memory, and, not taking
sufficient time for fixing passing events properly in their
minds, retain false impressions, which they are apt to
give forth, often with much sorrow to themselves after-
wards, in a form which does not bear the test of strict
examination. Mr. Sopwith, truthful to the fullest
degree by nature, cultivated truth methodically, and so
became automatically truthful, — a high attainment.

CHAPTEE III.

COMMENCEMENT OF A LONG CAREER.
1803-25.

R. SOPWITH was born on the third day of
January in 1803, and grew up a healthy
boy. He was a very short time at school,
and became, by the time he was of age, quite
an adept in practical mechanical art. " I think," he
once said to me, "that Sir Joseph Whitworth was not
a better working engineer than I was ;" and I once heard
Sir Joseph, who to the last was proud of his own skill,
say on his part, " I was quite as good with my hands,
when I was young, as Tom Sopwith."

His elementary studies over, Mr. Sopwith, as a step
onwards, began to study land-snrveying ; and gaining a
practical knowledge of that art, he soon found oppor-
tunities of applying the knowledge he had acquired. In
1822 he was employed by the Corporation of Newcastle
to make surveys, and as several private persons employed
him in the same capacity, he carried out a considerable
number of labours in surveying, and took an active part
in planning the construction of a new jail in Newcastle.
In this year, 1822, he was admitted a free Burgess of the
Corporation of Newcastle, before the Eight Worshipful
William Wright, Esq., Mayor, and stood charged with a
musket for the defence of the town.

i4 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1803-25.

The fact that he was admitted as a Burgess so early
in life indicates that he had already made himself
popular with the leading men of his native place, — a
fact which is further borne out by the circumstance
that a sum of ten guineas was voted to him by the
Committee of the Town Council, with a complimentary
message from the Mayor, and from Mr. John Clayton,
the Town Clerk, a distinguished local man, whose death
in his ninety-ninth year took place in July 1890, and
was subject of comment far beyond the city and district
in which he had flourished so long and won such golden
respect.

He now finally determined to devote his life to the
profession of an engineer. To this course his father
assented, and on attaining the age of twenty-one
he undertook to carry out a series of surveys for
Mr. Joseph Dickinson, of Alston. At this time Mr.
Dickinson, himself a surveyor of landed estates and
mines, was engaged in surveying the lead-mines belong-
ing to the Greenwich Hospital Estates. Into this work
Mr. Sopwith entered, and a new world of wide extent lay
before him, of scenery, geology, mining, in all of whicli
he took delight. Once, when speaking to me of these
early days, he told me, with a little touch of poetry,
that his mental life rested at first on three supports :
the mountain led him towards the skies and made him
familiar with the stars ; the earth kept him from becoming
too aspiring, and in return made him familiar with the
treasures of old which lie on her surface ; and the
mine took him under the earth, a still humbler sphere,
to seek out knowledge in darkness, and the goods that
are held in secret. So in some degree he became an
astronomer ; in some degree a geologist ; and, in a

1803-25.] COMMENCEMENT OF A LONG CAREER. 15

professed degree, a mineralogist. " And this," he added,
" embraced a great deal."

How he entered upon his majority is best told by the
following quotation from his diary, dated January 3rd,
1824.

" This day completes the twenty-first year of my age, and
terminates that period of life which all look back upon with
regret. The amusements of childhood and the frivolity of
youth are now to be superseded by the more serious reflections
and pursuits of mature years. On taking retrospective views of
this interesting period of life, what varied scenes present them-
selves to view ! What happy days are past and gone for ever,
— ah ! never to return, but fondly registered in that memorial
of past affections where every day the leaf is turned to read
them ! How many in that time have been taken from the
troubled storms of life to the silent mansions of peace, solemn
instances of the uncertainty of life and of the rapid approach
of that period when the enjoyments of human life must fade
in the shadow ! "

With the money he had saved, and a small gift
from his father, he remained a year at Alston with-
out salary or any other emolument. In the second
year he became a partner with his employer, and
commenced an independent life of activity, which,
as he often declared, was pursued onwards "with
comfort and happiness to himself, and he hoped with
some return of good to those by whom he was
surrounded."

In another memorandum, made in the year 1856, I
find him writing the following commentary on the
subject of his life at the period under description. It
is a commentary made in some happy moment, evidently
after perusing his first diary.

16 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1803-25.

" I have, in looking over these pages, the opportunity of
reviving as it were very distinct images in my mind of
former days. I find recorded here the genuine thoughts
and reflections -which passed through my mind. I find much
which I can rest upon with thankfulness and joy ; but
it is only too true that an exact and honest review of life
cannot be made without seeing in bold relief the weakness,
vanity, and imperfections of even our best efforts. Life
indeed is a shadow, a vapour which passeth away, and the
very ink on some of these books has already faded away.
Yet how varied are those shadows ; how diversified those
vapours, like changing clouds, — sometimes heavy, dull, and
hopeless, then bright and massive ; at other times gay and
fleecy, flashed with resplendent hues. Even so is life. We
live that we may learn. The chiefest of all learning is to
learn to live, and the foundation of all such learning can
only be safely based on a humble, constant, and earnest
faith in the never -failing goodness of God our Creator, our
Preserver, and our Redeemer."

I have copied these simple words in all their sim-
plicity and in all their purity. Had their author formed
the least conception that they would one day be sent
out to the world to be read, criticised, approved, or
disapproved, he might have delivered them with more
care and more effort at refinement. But no skill with
the pen could have imparted the sentiments expressed
with greater sincerity, or with greater sweetness of
character. They reveal the man just as he was in his
native worth.

The journal of Mr. Sopwith, extending over the
long period already named, is something more than
a mere diary. It contains a diary, with notices and
occasional details of occurrences that came under his
observation ; but there is other matter also, consisting

1 803-25 . ] COMMENCEMENT OF A L ONG CA REER. 1 7

of extracts from MSS., scarce books, and miscellaneous
collections copied at leisure hours at Newcastle-on-Tyne
and at Alston. These include collections of pedigrees ;
copies of, and extracts from, correspondence ; a common-
place book, and plans and MSS. relating to public
buildings and antiquities in Newcastle.

As to pedigree, it is necessary only to say that the
Sop with family had been located in Tyneside for three
hundred years, and, as bearing on the proclivities of
our present representative of it, that in 1735 one of its
members, in company with Mr. Ennington, another well-
known Northumbrian name, opened up and worked a
lead-mine in the neighbourhood of Hexham. His father
Jacob was born at Newcastle on May 23rd, 1770, and
married Isabella daughter of Matthew Lowes.
I Many curious incidents are related in the early diaries,
showing the social life of the old English towns New
castle and Durham at the commencement of the century.
An account of the assize held at Durham, and of the
outside ceremonial in 1823, is quaintly told. It was
once customary to present the Mayor of the town on
these grand occasions with a dagger, actually for his
defence. The custom had ceased by this time, but the
remembrance remained in the fact of the continued pay-
ment of a sum of money as " dagger money." At an
assize at Newcastle this same year, Mr. Sopwith is an
observer of Mr. Brougham, previous to attending the
trial of Mr. Carr, the Captain of the Watch. Brougham,
then rising towards the zenith of his fame, is described
as " a tall, thin, dark, coarse-featured man, with nothing
in his appearance indicative of those abilities which he
so eminently possesses." In this same month (July 30th,
1823), a curious ceremony is described as taking place
at Newcastle, namely, the Festival of St. Crispin, or, as

2

1 8 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1803-25.

some called him, King Crispin. The festival had not
been held for many years — not, indeed, in the current
veneration of Newcastle at least — and the streets of the
town were as much crowded as they had been at the time
of the coronation of the King, George IV., or at the time
of the visit of the Duke of Sussex. From the accounts
that had been rumoured forth about the splendours of
the pageant, something tremendous was expected. But,
alas ! the grandeur was not realized. A number of
persons, the representative subjects of King Crispin, met
as the court of that monarch in the Freeman's Hospital
at nine a.m., and from thence marched through the
streets for three hours. At the Mansion House, the
Mayor had the privilege of drinking wine with the traves-
tied sovereign ; but " the respectability and dresses and
numbers " of the actors " fell far short of the general
anticipation," and the antics of the paltry eccentric show
" became the laughing-stock of the public."

In this same year Mr. Sopwith seems to have been
unusually busied in many labours and exercises, which
brought him largely before his fellow-townsmen. He
made copies of "John Wesley's medal," and of his epitaph,
to be inserted in a volume of autograph letters of that
enthusiastic divine. He made the personal acquaintance
of the famous McAdam, of road-construction celebrity ;
he learned to play on the organ, and occasionally
officiated as organist at AH Saints' Church ; and he took
part in the carrying out of many local improvements
in the town.

During the year 1825, Mr. Sopwith continued to work
at engineering with Mr. Dickinson, and was engaged
in the then novel employment of conducting a railway
survey. Respecting this work he has left some interest-
ing notes, having reference to the early experience of

1803-25.] COMMENCEMENT OF A LONG CAREER. 19

engineers in railway surveys, as well as to the arguments
pro and con regarding the introduction of railways as
lines of transit.

It was the birth-tiine of the railway system. Steamers
had been put on rivers, and the idea was becoming com-
mon, amongst advanced and intelligent minds, that the
whole country would have to be interlaced with railways
for land transit, with the iron horse for the motor. This,
however, meant the doom of the old coach, and all
the associations connected with it. Many and varied
interests, and sentiments which virtually are also interests,
told against the new innovation even amongst those who
were inclined, on scientific grounds, to be its advocates.
The time had now come when some one was wanted in
Newcastle-on-Tyne to take the practical steps towards
the realization of a local scheme, and " to effect a more
desirable communication across the island by a canal
or a railway." The merits of a canal were very ably
set forth by Mr. William Armstrong, a merchant of
Newcastle ; but the general opinion was for a railway.
During this period of indecision, in order to bring-
about the best information on the subject the services
of Mr. Telford, an eminent local engineer, were called
into requisition ; but as his numerous professional
engagements prevented him from entering into the task
for a twelvemonth, and bias in favour of a railroad
increased, a committee that had been established to
advance a railway scheme, and that had obtained share-
holders very readily, called a meeting on May 21st,
1825, and completed an organization for the railway. A
portion of the necessary work for the design was given
to Mr. Sample, of Anick, near Hexham, and to Mr.
Dickinson ; they were to undertake the construction of
the line between Corbridge and Hay don Bridge ; and

20 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1803-25.

for them Mr. Sopwith took part in the preliminary
inspection of the route that was to be followed.

Before undertaking these, his new duties, he returned
for a few days to Newcastle, and during this time visited
the exhibition of paintings and other works of art held
at the gallery in the house of Mr. T. M. Richardson. It
seems to have been a fine collection, the honours of which
were carried off, he reports, by Mr. Good, of Berwick, for a
picture of a fisherman with a gun. This picture was
bought, the first day, by Mr. Berkely, for twenty guineas ;
a sum which another would-be possessor offered to in-
crease by four times, without success. I mention this
note as indicating how early in life my friend began to
take an interest in artistic works.

CHAPTER IV.

EARLY AUTHORSHIP.

1826.

>HE year 1826 was welcomed by Mr. Sop with
with actual enthusiasm. He commenced
his diary with a review of previous years,
and added a list of the different persons of
note with whom he had become acquainted, some of
whom he had also entered on his list of friends. He
was, at this stage, according to his own simple estimate,
a fortunate man. He had entered a profession which
was most congenial to his tastes and aspirations ; he
had won the respect of many connected with his native
town ; he had sent in his first account of fees, amounting
to £16 16s., for surveying and plans, for the Corporation
of Newcastle, per John Clayton, Town Clerk ; and since
then his pecuniary prospects had continued to brighten.
With Mr. Dickinson he remained on the best terms,
with promise of new arrangements for continued work
in land and mine surveying.

He was now staying at Alston, and enjoying the quiet
of the little place to his heart's content. He resided
at " Mrs. Morris's." His time was chiefly occupied in
drawing plans of mines and lands, and occasionally
surveying both. A circle of intelligent and agreeable
friends afforded many opportunities of profitable con-

22 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1826.

versation ; and the skill of some of these in music
afforded him other opportunities of learning, practising,
and preserving his attachment for that most delightful
of all recreations. In brief, the information, good sense,
and hospitality which he received in Alston were most
grateful to him, and were indelibly engraved on " that
page where every day the leaf is turned to read, and
where the grateful recollection long exists." Again,
somewhat after the manner of Benjamin Franklin, Mr.
Sopwith at this time kept a small book, in which he
entered with scrupulous care the minor details of each
day, and by this reviewed and shaped, day by day, the
course of his life.

In the early part of this year (1826) Mr. Sopwith,
for the first time, appeared as an author, by the pub-
lication of a descriptive historical account of All Saints'
Church, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, illustrated with plans,
views, and architectural details. From having been
engaged in the summer of 1824 to renew the plans of
freehold property in All Saints' Church, he determined
on the publication of an engraving of the church,
accompanied with some notices of the former and of
the present structure. In the prosecution of his design
he was favoured with the sanction of the clergy and
churchwardens, who readily communicated to him infor-
mation bearing upon his subject. In his description he
added such particulars as local circumstances afforded,
collected from various sources : from documents in the
vestry of All Saints, from historical notices of the old
church by Bourne and Brand, and from personal inquiry
of those who remembered the old and nearly-forgotten
structure, to which he added the particulars of the erec-
tion of the present church. To many other engravings
he added a representation of a very curious brass plate,

1 826.] EARLY AUTHORSHIP. 23

formerly on the monument of Roger Thornton ; two
plans to illustrate the architecture of the steeple ; and
five plates of the armorial bearings in the cemetery,
with the drawings and description of which he was
favoured by Mr. M. A. Richardson.

The history of the church extends to one hundred and
thirty-one closely-printed pages, and is not only a laborious
but really a most interesting and historical essay, full of
quaint observations and touching local stories and inci-
dents. In one of these incidents some details are recorded
of the life of a local celebrity named Captain William
Hedley, who met with his death in the old church.
At that time, a considerable portion of the body of the
church having been taken down, the eastern extremity
of the chancel was suffered to remain, and was after-
wards enclosed for purposes of utility during the erection
of the new church. The demolition of the steeple was
unfortunately the cause of the fatal event long remem-
bered. Hedley, in company with several other gentlemen,
was inspecting the ruins of the building on the evening
of September 2nd, 1786. The firm manner in which
several parts of the tower were cemented rendered it
necessary to have recourse to the operation of blasting
with gunpowder, and one of the explosions not pro-
ducing any immediate effect, the company drew near the
place ; Mr. Hedley incautiously stepped within the great
west door, when some stones fell from the upper part of
the wall upon his head, causing a severe concussion of
the brain, which deprived him of sense and in a few
hours of life.

This accident was rendered the more deplorable because
of the estimable qualities of Hedley, and an exhibition of
bravery by him under the following circumstances, which
made him the object even of national gratitude. The

24

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1826.

infant son of a wealthy person in Bordeaux having fallen
into the river there, no inducement could prevail on
any of the numerous spectators to attempt a rescue
until Mr. Hedley plunged into the water and reached
the child. The cries of admiration at his bravery were
succeeded by lamentations for his supposed loss on
seeing both the infant and himself disappear. With
considerable difficulty, however, he succeeded in getting
to the shore, and in restoring the child to its agonised
parents. To their grateful acknowledgments he replied,
11 It is I who am most happy in giving consolation to a
worthy family, and yon owe me nothing, since this event
has procured me a pleasure I shall never forget. There
are few men who would not do what I have done." He
then burst from them amidst the acclamations of the
multitude, and cautiously eluded all the inquiries which
were made with a design to pay due tribute to so brave
a man. The following is an extract from an eulogium
published in France concerning him :—

"All that could be learned was that his name was
Hedley. Let this name then be consecrated on the
records of humanity. May these trifles dictated by
sentiment fall into the hands of this respectable English-
man, and may he not regret this tribute of gratitude paid
him through me. My countrymen will not contradict
me. Behold, ye of all nations and countries, such an
eulogium as the heart ought to seek to be made known
to the world. Without doubt we ought rather to preserve
the name of Hedley than that of a warrior followed with
blood, or of a politician whose negotiations are but a
string of his perfidies. Unhappy mortals, will ye never
be dazzled but by a sort of brightness which you your-
selves lend to infamy, in decreeing it the honour of that
immortality which ought only to be the recompense of

1 826.] EARLY AUTHORSHIP. 25

those who do well ? Bury therefore in eternal oblivion
the oppressor, and all who are dishonourable to their
species. Virtue alone deserves our remembrance."

The sentiments of this ettlogium, Mr. Sopwith tells us,
were also elegantly expressed in a piece of poetry which,
as lu> was not aware of its having been previously
published, he sent, many years before, to the Neivcastle
Month® Visitor, in which magazine it was inserted in
November 1816.

Taking .'t altogether, the diary of my friend for the
year 1826 mows a life of continued enjoyment in the
midst of work often of an arduous kind. He concludes
his notes of the year with the observation that during
the whole of the time he has been chiefly engaged in
land and mine surveying with Mr. Joseph Dickinson.
In May he completed the publication of the " History
of All Saints' Church." He enjoyed good health and
agreeable society, was for the most part very happy
and contented, and ended the year with sentiments and
opinions similar to those with which he commenced it.

CHAPTEE V.

A SEVERE ILLNESS. CONTRIBUTIONS OF SOCIAL
FACTS AND ANTIQUITIES.

1827.

kHE year 1827 presents Mr. Sopwith once more
enjoying the monotony of a quiet country
life. His working time was occupied with
business through the day, and occasionally
through the evening. His leisure time was chiefly spent
at home, in writing and drawing, in architectural or
geological studies. He retained his love for the prac-
tice of music, and essayed to play on the pianoforte, but
soon devoted himself exclusively to the organ, which
with him was " the king of instruments." A little later
in the year, namely, in the beginning of March, he was
seized rather suddenly with what was then called an
attack of acute inflammatory fever. The record of this
illness is remarkable, as indicative of the practice of
medicine then in vogue. He tells us that the pain in
his knees and limbs was extremely severe, and that two
clays afterwards, on attempting to go down stairs, he
became faint, and was overpowered by a peculiarly
suffocating sensation in his breath. In the evening he
was too feeble to be able to return upstairs, and went
therefore to bed in the " low parlour." Here he passed
a restless night, and at five on the following day he was

1827.] A SEVERE ILLNESS. 27

attended by a surgeon of the name of Shaw, who bled
him to eighteen ounces, gave him a calomel pill, a dose
of Epsom salts, afterwards a dose of opium, and, on
the following day, a mixture of digitalis, antimony, and
tartar emetic every four hours to reduce the circulation.
He says he perspired profusely, and was very restless
until four in the morning, when Dr. Shaw, being sent for
again, took from him eighteen ounces more blood, after
which he was removed upstairs to his own room, where
he went to sleep and awoke about two the following
morning greatly relieved. This was on a Sunday. He
remained " variable," getting little rest and taking no
solid food, until the following Wednesday. On Thurs-
day he got up at three p.m., and sat until bedtime. On
Friday he arose at nine a.m., sat until night, commenced
to take a " mixture of columba," and rapidly returned to
his natural state of health. Curiously enough, a little
later in the same month his own father was seized in a
somewhat similar manner at Newcastle — " attacked with
severe pain in his breast " — and was greatly relieved by
being freely bled.

On September 28th, 1827, Mr. Sopwith describes the
visit of the Duke of Wellington to Newcastle. The Duke
was this day presented with the freedom of the town, on
a large platform erected on the front of the Exchange,
in the presence of many thousands of people. The Duke
reviewed the yeomanry troops on the Moor, dined at the
Mansion House, and, after visiting the Assembly Rooms,
went to Eavensworth Castle. In a letter added by a
sister of Mr. Sopwith, the Duke is described as by no
means realizing the anticipation of the hero of Waterloo.
" He had very white hair, was carefully dressed in an old
and plain surtout, ornamented with a Waterloo medal,
and wore a round hat. He did not court the popular

28 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1827.

observation, and the sovereign people seemed to take it
rather amiss that his Grace took so little notice of them
who did so zealously disturb themselves to take notice
of him."

In a summary to the memoranda of this year, Mr.
Sopwith adds some curious social facts bearing upon this
period of his life. He observes that in 1825 the Stamp
Duty was nominally 4cZ., but a discount of 20 per cent,
was granted by Parliament against heavy Excise duties,
which reduced the duty to 3Jr/. per sheet. The price of
paper was 70s. per thousand for the large papers, or
rather more than 4|r/. per sheet. The stamp and paper,
therefore, cost rather more than 4d.

The Id. London newspapers were sold to agents at
13s. per quire (technical of 27 papers), or 5^r/., so that
about Iff/, was all that remained for remuneration and
expenses, the agents receiving lfd. on each paper. The
regular salaries paid by the editors and proprietors of
morning papers amounted to £5,000, £6,000, and even
£7,000 per annum. The expenses of procuring reports
of parliamentary proceedings for the daily papers was
upwards of £3,000 per annum. Ten or fourteen reporters
were employed, and each was engaged in the House for
three-quarters of an hour to an hour. Formerly 250
impressions could be struck off in one hour, but now by
steam-power 2,000, and even 2,500, could be struck off
in the same period of time.

He adds to these some other statistical accounts.
In Great Britain, the number of men from 50 to 60
years of age, capable of rising in arms en masse, was
2,744,847, or about 4 in every 7 males.

There were about 90,000 marriages every year, — that is
to say, about 246 every day,— and in 63 marriages three
onlv were without issue.

l827.] SOME SOCIAL FACTS.

The number of deaths in Great Britain yearly was
332,700 persons; monthly. 25,502 ; weekly, 6,308; daily,
014 ; hourly, 40. The proportion of the deaths of
women to that of men was as 50 to 54. Married women
lived longer than unmarried women.

In country places, the average number of children born
of each marriage was 4. In cities and large towns
the proportion was 7 children to two marriages, or 3£

to one.

Married men formed three-fifths of the male popula-
tion but married women formed one-third of the female
population.

Four out of five widows re-married.
The number of old persons who died during cold
weather, to those who died during the warm weather,
was as 7 to 4.

Half of all who were born in Great Britain died
before the age of 17 years.

The proportion of twins at a single birth was 1 to 63.
The small-pox in the natural way carried off 8 in
100, and by inoculation 1 in 300.

The proportion of males born to females was 26 males
to 25 females.

In 1801 the male population of Great Britain was
5,450,292, while the female population was 5,492,354,
or 100 females to 99 males. The total population of the
metropolis at that time was 1,099,104 persons, in the
proportion of 100 males to 128 females.

In 1812 1 male in 10 in England and Ireland was
under arms.

It appears from tables extending from 1772 to 1778
that nearly 1 in 8 cases of insanity arose from religious
fanaticism.

Under the head of "Extracts from Brand's and Bourne's

30 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1827.

'Antiquities,'" Mr. Sop with makes some curious comments
on the " Soul Bell," adding the following particulars
on the use of the bells of the churches in the populous
town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. There, he says, the
church bells have not been confined to ecclesiastical
uses. They have also with great propriety been adapted
to civil purposes. The tolling of the great bell at St.
Nicholas' Church there was an ancient signal for the
Burgesses to convene a Guild-Day, and likewise on the
day of electing magistrates. The little carnival on
Pancake Tuesday commences by the same signal. A bell,
usually called " the Thief and Reever " (reever = a
robber : to reeve, to spoil, or rob) bell, proclaimed the
two annual fairs. A peculiar kind of alarm was given by
a bell for accidents or fire. A bell was rung at six in
the morning, except Sundays and holidays, with a view,
it would seem, of calling up the artisans to their daily
labour. There was also retained the vestige of the old
Norman Curfew at eight in the evening. The bells
were muffled on January 30th, for which he could find no
precedent. Their sound on this occasion was peculiarly
pleasant. Had my friend enquired more carefully into
this matter he might possibly have discovered that the
muffled bells on January 30th were the continuous
mourning for the death of Charles I.

Distinction of rank, he observes, was preserved in
Newcastle in the tolling of the Soul Bell. A high
fee excludes the common people and appropriates to
the death of persons of consequence the tolling of the
great bell of each church. A bell also was tolled, and
sometimes chimes were rung, a little before the burial,
and while the body was being carried to the church.
They chime or ring too, sometimes, when the grave is
being filled up.

1827.] A GOOD RECEIP1. 31

In another note made by Mr. Sopwith in this same
year I find some calculations which he has collected
relative to the importation of tea into England. In 1669
the quantity of tea imported was 143 pounds ; in 1678
it had risen to 4,713 pounds. In 1700 it had become
20,000 pounds. In 1721, 1,000,000, and in 1816 it had
reached 36,234,380 pounds.

On the same page he writes down a very good receipt
for a scent-pot given to him by Dr. Dyer of Newcastle,
as follows : —

" Calamus root \\ ounce

Orris root 1 ounce

Musk 15 grains

To this add lavender flowers, damask rose leaves, and bay
salt, as much as you please."

CHAPTEE VI.

A VISIT TO SCOTLAND. SIR WALTER SCOTT. PROFESSOR
WILSON (" CHRISTOPHER NORTH"). THE BROTHERS
( II AMBERS. FL ODDEX FIELD.

1828.

*HE year 1828 was eventful for my friend.
At the commencement of the year he was
still residing at Alston, where he began to
learn the art of engraving. The results of
his labours in this direction ended in the publication of
his work " Geological Sections of Mines." This work
was illustrated with plates, and exhibits the subter-
raneous workings of the mines in the Manor of Alston
Moor by a horizontal or ground plan, and by an upright
or vertical section. These plans were intended to assist
mining proprietors and those interested in the study of
geology, by supplying numerous records of established
facts on the disposition of strata, the position of mineral
veins and their productiveness under various changes.
The plans he executed for this work, some of them
beautifully coloured, were of the most practical nature,
and connected with the undertaking he showed a warm
enthusiasm. He expressed the opinion that similar
plans should be made in every mining district, and
quoted from the celebrated Werner in his theory of
the formation of veins, that a collection of geological
plans, with the plan and description of a district, would

1828.] A VISIT TO SCOTLAND. 33

form a most instructive volume. To which he added : —
" If our ancestors had left us such documents for two
centuries past, or even for half a century, what advantage
would it not have been to us ! From what doubts would
it not relieve us ! With what anxiety do we not turn
over the leaves of ancient chronicles in search of informa-
tion, often very imperfect, obscure, and uncertain ! With
what pleasure do we not receive the least sketch or plan
of some ancient mine ? With what pains do we not rake
up heaps of rubbish brought out of old excavations, to
discover pieces which may afford us some idea of the
substances which were formerly worked out? Yet be-
tween these documents and those which we might obtain
in the way pointed out in the preceding paragraphs, there
is as much difference as between night and day. Would
it not be an obligation, a duty, for us to collect and leave
to future generations as much instruction and knowledge
as possible on the labours carried on in our mines,
whether it be in those that are still worked, or in those
which have been given up ? "

In the beginning of April he left home for the first
time for a long journey, paying a visit to Scotland, and
taking various places on his way, travelling by coach.
On April 3rd he passed through a vale of beautiful
scenery from Longtown to Langholm, and thence through
the mountainous district of Ewesdale, where he had the
pleasure of meeting Sir Walter Scott and his daughter.
In the evening he arrived at Hawick, and next day went
on a coach called the " Sir Walter Scott," by Selkirk to
Edinburgh.

The visit to Edinburgh is related by Mr. Sopwith in
the diary with much detail. It lasted for three weeks,
during which time it opened up many very pleasant
and important friendships. The distinguished actor

3

34 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1828.

Vandenhorf was at Edinburgh at the time, with his wife
and daughter, and showed him many courtesies. Of this
family he speaks in the highest terms, dwelling par-
ticularly on the scholastic and accomplished character of
the great tragedian. He was also introduced to some
of the famous professors of that day, and attended the
lectures of two of them, namely, Professor Wilson, who
then held the chair of Moral Philosophy, and Professor
Hope, who held the chair of Chemistry. The contrast
which he draws between these two lecturers is as amusing
as it .is interesting. Wilson was all verve, animation,
and yet condensation ; while Hope was calm, deliberate,
slow, with a delivery so low and a method so technical,
it was difficult to follow him. Hope, at this time, had
the largest classroom in Edinburgh. It would receive
over six hundred students, and on one occasion when
Mr. Sopwith was present there were over three hundred
present.

The lecture is thus briefly described : —

" Ten minutes of the hour elapsed before he (Dr. Hope)
entered, and his method seemed anything but that which gets
through a great deal of business in little time. Much of the
lecture was on the nature of soap, and its composition and
qualities were exhibited in some experiments ; the nature of
volatile oils was then discussed, and a very neat exhibition of
instantaneous combustion from the mixture of cold liquids
shown. The low tone of his voice prevented me following him
in a discourse so much compounded of technical language. A
few of the students, I observed, took brief notes, but in the
more important parts of his course, a few weeks ago, a friend
informed me that nearly all the students made notes. As
many of them attend several classes, of which the lectures
closely follow each other, and each occupy an hour, very strict
punctuality is required, which in this class was developed in a

1828.] "CHRISTOPHER NORTH." 35

somewhat singular manner. The bell rings at the close of the
hour, the janitor throws open the door of the classroom, and
if a train of artillery loaded for their annihilation was about
to enter, it could not send them more speedily on their de-
parture than did the mere opening of the door. Up they rose
en masse, helter skelter over forms and benches, and left the
worthy Professor apparently wondering at this uproarious and
instantaneous departure in the midst of his discourse. The
effect was to me very odd. ' Gentlemen,' said Dr. Hope, ' to
discover the purity of this liquid, which is often adulterated,
you pour a few drops on paper and hold it to the fire ; ' and
suiting the action to the word, he was about to do so. ' Now,

gentlemen, if it evaporates ' But oh the uncertainty of

human life, which most truly does pass away as a vapour ! At
that moment the folding doors flew open, and the class, regard-
less of the purity of the spirits of turpentine, more speedily
evaporated than even the volatile fluid which remained in the
Doctor's hands. It was in vain that he attempted to stem the
current by a few words, which the noise did not allow me to
hear distinctly, but there were some rather expressive words
about ' great hurry ' and ' doing it again.' But even this,
seconded by the more eloquent countenance of the Professor,
was in vain."

The reports of Professor Wilson's lectures on moral
obligations, internal piety, self-interest, obedience to the
Divine will, involuntary affections as a part of virtue,
influence of the affections, observance of moral rules not
the only essentials to virtue, the affections as duties,
prudence and courage, view of mankind, remaining
excellences of human nature, high moral sentiments,
general sense of moral obligations, and union of religion
and morals, are admirably epitomised in several pages of
the journal. Still more interesting is the account he
gives of a visit he paid the Professor at his residence,
No. 6, Gloucester Place, in Edinburgh, on Sunday,

36 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1828.

April 20th, 1*28. Lovers of" Christopher North " will be
grateftil for this little bit of new light on the character
and manners of this brilliant scholar.

" On Sunday evening, April 20th, 1828, I spent part of the
evening -with Professor Wilson, at his house, No. 6, Gloucester
Place, Edinburgh. He was in a spacious room, without any
fire, and had two tables covered with books and manuscripts
before him; a paper on which he had written a few lines,
and a small book of poetry, were apparently occupying his
attention when I entered. He was carelessly dressed in a
large and coarse great coat and waistcoat, no neckcloth to a
shirt seemingly worn two or three days, and a beard neglected
for the same period; his hair also disordered. He is a tall,
rather stout, and good-looking man — much more so in his
lecture-room than the study; speaks with rapidity, but very
distinctly. He walked quickly backwards and forwards in the
compass of a few paces, and took snuff from a paper on the
table. The conversation, though brief and hurried, included
the following subjects : Highland scenery, Heber, Hugh
Moises, Hodgson's 'Northumberland,' York Minster, Sir
Walter Scott, Brougham's treatises. Grecian and Gothic archi-
tecture. Bewick, Neshitt, Harvey, and wood engraving. He
also enquired after Doubleday, Losh, Turner, Adamson, and
others.

" He had travelled, he said, a good deal on foot, and was
very fond of seeing strange places. . . . Had been at Alston.
. . . April rather too early for the Highlands, but May and
June very Favourable. Some prefer autumn and yellow-tinted
trees, but 'for my part.' said he, ' I love to see Nature in her
native and gayest colours, her beautiful green; and as for
diversity, trees naturally vary in colour at all times.'

"'Heber was one of the most amiable of men, and a line
poet. 1 knew him when at college. I [e was of a very cheer-
ful, lively, playful disposition ; so much so, indeed, that it was
feared it might tend to idleness; in other respects he was

1828.] " CHRISTOPHER NORTH" $7

clever, and a very amiable character. . . . Mrs. Heber is a
very clever woman ; I had no conception how clever. ... I
wrote an article in Blackwood's Magazine a few months ago
on " Heber's Hymns," and received a very affecting letter from
her, with a copy of his "Indian Journal.'"

"We spoke of the Rev. Hugh Moises, of the late and
present Bishop of Durham, and of Hodgson's ' History of
Northumberland.' He seemed much interested in the account

I gave him of the plan, and of the various details wrought up
in it. . . . He promised to see it. . . .

" ' I have been in most of the Cathedrals in England, but
York Minster excels them all. ... I first saw it when going
to college at seventeen years of age, and till then had no idea
that so magnificent a structure existed. ... It alone is well
worth going a long way to see.'

" When speaking of Sir Walter Scott, I enquired whether
he was intended for the Church, as seems intimated in one of
bhe stanzas of ' Harold the Dauntless,' beginning,

' Grey towers of Durham, there was once a time.'
He said he was not aware of it, but thought it very likely that
this might have been at one time his intention. ' He is not

II inch attached to law, but in Scotland it is almost the only
profession that a man can get well forward in. Sir Walter
is not a member of the Church of England, but has a great
liking for it. You were fortunate in the coincidence of
meeting him on your first entrance into Scotland, and amid
so romantic scenery. I well remember it, being once detained
by an accident several days at Mosspaul.'

" I mentioned the treatises of the Society for Promoting
Usefid Knowledge. ' I have only seen eight or ten numbers.
I think them very clever, and written by very able men.'

"We had some conversation on the architecture of Edin-
burgh, on the splendid Roman models of Adams, and on the
defective Gothic in St. George's Chapel by the same. I men-
tioned an idea that occurred to me several times, viz., that the
same combination of Gothic designs (as is common in the

38 THOMAS S0PWI7H, F.R.S. [1828.

Grecian) would produce a pleasing contrast, and have the im-
posing character of an immense cathedral pile.

" He made many enquiries about Bewick. ' My children
will have his books alone. They are often lying on my break-
fast table and other places, and I always look at them with
renewed pleasure.' This observation is made in Blackwood
about six weeks after, in these words, ' Have we forgotten the
genius that dwells on the banks of the Tyne 1 . . . No . . .
his books lie on our parlour, bedroom, dining-room, drawing-
room, study tables, and are never out of place or time. . . .
Happy old man ! the delight of childhood, manhood, decaying
age ; a moral in every titlepiece, a sermon in every vignette.'
This coincideuce seems to indicate the Professor to be the
writer of the article in which it appears, and which is a very
favourable review of his brother James Wilson's ' Zoology.'

"On leaving, Mr. Wilson assured me he would call if he should
again visit Alston. ... On the whole, I was much pleased by
his courtesy, and greatly admired his amazing penetration and
intelligence."

Another very interesting interview was held by my
friend whilst he was in Edinburgh with a man destined
to play a leading part in the working literature of this
country ; one also whom we had the pleasure for
many years to call our mutual friend, and about whom
we often conversed in later days— I mean the distin-
guished Robert Chambers. Mr. Chambers, at the time
when Mr. Sopwith first made his acquaintance, was in
business in Edinburgh, and a note respecting his call is
here given. It is a short but bright picture of the
author of the " Vestiges of Creation " at the commence-
ment of his hopeful and striking career.

" I called at the house of Mr. Robert Chambers, author of
the 'Picture Book of Scotland' and other works, and had

1 828.] THE BROTHERS CHAMBERS. 39

some conversation with him. He is a young man, and has
lately travelled upwards of two thousand miles in various
parts of Scotland, chiefly on foot, notwithstanding a slight
lameness."

To this interview Mr. Sopwith, some time after-
wards, added, in reference to the famous journal which
William and Robert Chambers commenced : —

" The ability and moral influence of the well-known journal
conducted by him and his brother are beyond all praise. Not
only is that publication one of the most attractive means of
improvement and refinement of the age ; but the energy and
judgment of its conductors, so strikingly displayed in every
number, are likely to effect a reformation of many abuses
which exist in periodical publications, and to give a new and
decided tone, which may operate in a very powerful degree
towards the general welfare and happiness of society, not only
to this but to other nations."

In our friendly gossipings on men and events, Mr.
Sopwith and I often spoke and thought of events and
sayings relating to Robert Chambers. I remember, as if
it were but yesterday, telling Mr. Sopwith of my last
meeting with our friend ; how one fearfully cold and
stormy day in winter time, after paying a flying visit to
St. Andrews on business connected with the University
Court, I met Dr. Chambers (who then resided there)
on my way from the University to the railway station ;
how he insisted that on so bleak an afternoon I should
not pass his house, but should rest there for the night,
and " see his books, and talk of old friends and past
times ; " and how vexed he was that a fixed engage-
ment to lecture that very night in Edinburgh on my way
back to town rendered it impossible for me to accept the
gracious hospitality. " That was Robert Chambers all

40 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1828.

over," said Mr. Sopwith; who thereupon entered warmly
on " the work that man has done. And remember what
I say," he continued prophetically : —

" He is certain to turn out to be the author of the ' Vestiges.'
I have reckoned him up page by page, comparing that book
with his other works, and if I were put in the witness-box as
an expert in calculations, I could prove the thing to the satis-
faction of any intelligent jury."

Taking it altogether, the journey of Mr. Sopwith to
Scotland was rich in interest of every kind, and an
extremely useful lesson to him in this part of his career.
He returned home, visiting on his way all the principal
places on the Scottish border, and records with much
care numerous particulars of place and history ; some-
times correcting, sometimes expanding, what others have
said. For example, in describing Yevering Bell, a hill
in the neighbourhood of the Cheviots, he corrects
Hutchinson, commonly considered an authority of good
repute.

" Yevering Bell, in this neighbourhood, is a steep, conical
hill, and is remarkable for the extensive vestiges of antiquity
on its summit, and which are commoidy supposed to be of
Druidical origin. There are two eminences, on the higher of
which is a large cairn, or collection of stones, surrounded by a
ditch ; and the whole is surrounded by the ruins of a wall of
vast dimensions, which now occupy a breadth of about six
yards, and varying in height from one to three feet. Hutchin-
son describes this hill as being two thousand feet in perpen-
dicular height above the level of Milford Plain ; but, from
observations which I made, I do not think it exceeds eight
hundred feet in height."

A visit to Flodden Field afforded a striking though

1 828.] FLODDEN FIELD. 41

rather broken picture of that memorable place. He tells
how he and his companions rode up a steep hill (which
is now planted), and observed the remains of the entrench-
ments where the Scottish army lay encamped for some
time previous to the battle. The summit was covered
with earth and mounds, and commanded an extensive
and most beautiful prospect southward as far as Wooler,
and on the north and east also a beautiful country, seen
spreading out to a great distance. He expresses himself
as very much struck in contemplating the transactions of
that fatal conflict on the very spot where it occurred, and
especially the fatality which overwhelmed the extra-
ordinary advantages of the Scottish army, and rendered
the very precautions for their safety the immediate cause
of their defeat and ruin. He crossed a small stream, on
each side of which was a gentle declivity, and here the
thickest part of the conflict took place, according to
tradition, which the position itself seems to indicate.
He considers that no correct estimate has ever been
given of the numbers slain ; but though the loss on the
English side was trifling, that of the Scotch included
their king (James IV.), the flower of their nobility —
amongst whom were the Archbishop of St. Andrews, two
bishops, four abbots, twelve earls, seventeen barons, four
hundred knights, and many esquires and gentlemen.
The entire loss on the Scottish side has been calculated
from five to seventeen thousand, while upon the English
side it was about fifteen hundred. He concludes his note
with a happy allusion to the happier time in which he
lived, when civil war and bloodshed were known only by
tradition, and cultivation smiled over a scene which for
a few hours was once a scene of death and desolation.

Getting nearer home, he visited Hulme Abbey, and
found it undergoing repairs of some interest to the

42 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1828.

admirers of Sir Walter Scott. The repairs were sug-
gested to the Duke of Northumberland by Sir "Walter.
The ivy which covered a large portion of the walls had
been taken off, and the stonework pointed with Roman
cement, by which process the walls presented the
appearance of a badly-built barn rather than of venerable
ruins. With all his admiration for Scott, Mr. Sopwith
maintains his own love for ivy. " Ivy," he says, " though
sometimes destructive, is a great ornament; and he was
not surprised to hear a general expression of opinion that
tearing it from the walls of Hulme Abbey had greatly
impaired the appearance and beauty of the building."

CHAPTEE VII.

MARRIAGE. BURNING OF YORK MINSTER.
BEREA VEMENT.

1828-29.

JETURNING to Alston in May, 1828, Mr.
Sopwith resumed his engineering labours
in his usual methodical style. His diary
presents no point of special interest until

September 2nd ; there then occurs this important

entry : —

" Married by license at Alston Church, by the Rev. Anthony
Hedley, A.M., Thomas Sopwith to Mary, eldest daughter of
Mr. Thomas Dickenson, of Spency Croft, near Alston, and
principal agent to the Greenwich Hospital Estate and mines
in this district."

The engagement had lasted for five years, and was,
in every sense of the word, one of sincere affection.
The marriage was followed by a short honeymoon, and
then a return to work.

1829.

In February Mr. Sopwith was occupied in writing a
brief account of the burning of York Minster by
Jonathan Martin, which account was published in the
Newcastle Courier on February 13th as a bit of cotem-
porary history. The more important extracts from this
long-forgotten article call for repetition here.

44 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1828-29.

" The strong suspicions which were excited of Jonathan
Martin being the author of the destruction of the Choir of
York Minster, have been confirmed by the apprehension of
that remarkable individual, who, by an act of daring intrepidity
impelled by religious frenzy, has secured an inglorious notoriety,
equalled only perhaps by that of Erostratus, who to perpetuate
his name fired the temple of Diana at Ephesus, over two
thousand years ago.

" The ruin of the finest portion of the most splendid edifice in
the kingdom has excited universal regret and an intense feeling
which renders every particular of its destruction interesting.
The following particulars were given by Martin himself while
at Newcastle, exactly a week after the event. At the conclusion
of the evening service at the Minster, on Sunday, February
1st, 1829, he, Martin, secreted himself in one of the recesses
of the clustered columns which support the central tower.
About nine at night he went to the belfry, in one of the
western towers, where he lighted a candle by means of his
razor, matches, and tinder-box. He drew up a bell rope, which
he cut, and having coiled it, brought it down to the nave, when
he put out the light and knotted the rope, which he made use
of to enter the Choir. He spent three hours in arranging the
folio books, cushions, and other combustibles in two heaps on
either side of the organ ; and having prepared, by tearing the
leaves froni the books, the most effectual means for completing
bis scheme, he set fire to both heaps at once, and on seeing the
conflagration fairly commenced, departed by means of a rope
through a window, breaking it with a pair of pincers which
he took for that purpose that he might not cut his fingers.
He assigned as his reason for destroying so beautiful a building
that they did not preach the true doctrine of Christ, and that
it was for the honour and glory of God. In answer to the
question, ' Do you not expect to be punished for this great
offence against the Church ? ' he replied, ' That is between the
Almighty and me : 1 am willing to suffer any punishment for
the glory of God.' He said that when in the Cathedral he

1828-29.] BURNING OF YORK MINSTER. 45

felt quite comfortable, and in no way oppressed with that
solemnity and awe which the venerable pile usually impresses
upon spectators, and which to a mind capable of reflection
must have been singularly awful in the darkness and silence
of the night.

" Poetic imagination can hardly conceive a more distressing or
remarkable scene than this poor idiot wandering alone in the
vast aisles of the glorious structure, the last and only spectator
of that magnificent Choir, on which the beams of light had
shed their parting rays, and the chords of the organ had sounded
their rolling thunders and sweet melodies never to be again
heard ! The holy and beautiful house where our fathers
Avorshipped about to be burnt with fire, and the noblest
monument of the land about to be destroyed ! "

Twenty-five years after this event Mr. Sopwith
described it to me at the house of a mutual friend,
where, during our visit, we met one of the nearest
relatives of the unhappy man who had been the cause
of so much alarm. Mr. Sopwith knew another brother
of the same family, William, who lived at Newcastle,
and whose mind went wrong under the impression
that he had discovered perpetual motion, on which
discovery he published a new system of natural philo-
sophy on the principle of perpetual motion (Newcastle,
Preston, 1821). Later on (namely 1829) this brother
published another work, entitled "William Martin's
Challenge to All the World as a Philosopher and Critic,"
in which work he includes " The Flight through the
Universe into Boundless Space ; or, The Philosopher's
Travels of his Mind," with another chapter, " A Critique
on All False Men who pretend to be Critics, and not
being Men of Wisdom or Genius." The same man also,
after making an attack on the distinguished astronomer
Dr. Nichol of Glasgow, turned round upon a religious

46 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1828-29.

sect with "A Stumbling-block to the Unitarians, prov-
ing Three in One in Everything."

While pitying these two unhappy brothers, Mr.
Sopwith had unbounded admiration of a third brother
of the same family, the marvellous John Martin, the
painter, whose works as an artist were, he thought,
even surpassed by his suggestions as an engineer, by
his plans for improved sanitation, and by his hopes of
securing a healthy world. " Truly," my friend said, as
he closed the history, " in this case it is literally the
fact : —

" ' Great genius is to madness close allied.' "

Coming back from this short digression, I am brought
to the record of a first domestic calamity, one which threw,
for a time, a cloud over Mr. Sopwith's life. On July
21st, 1829, he spent the day with the Rev. Anthony
Hedley, of Whitfield, by whom he had been married,
some ten months before, to Mary Dickenson. The two
gentlemen devoted their time to the study of several
manuscripts, which Mr. Sopwith had written at intervals,
on mining records, and a descriptive account of Alston
for Mr. Davidson's intended work on Border excursions.
Three days later, namely, on July 24th, an event
happened which he thus records : —

" At eight o'clock this morning my dear Mary was safely
delivered of her first-born child, a fine boy, at Loaning House,
near Alston. The afternoon was one continued and dreadful
storm of thunder and rain. Gilclerdale and Thornhope bridges
were carried away by violent floods."

Seven days later is the next mournful minute :■ —
"July 31st. — The remains of my dear Mary have this

1828-29.] UNDER BEREAVEMENT. 47

evening been interred in the Chapel yard of the Independent
Congregation of Alston."

The particulars of this bereavement are given at great
length in a special chapter of the diary and in one of
the most touching of narratives I ever remember to have
read. There is an account of the correspondence between
himself and his wife, of the trust they put in each other,
of their mutual fondness for particular pursuits, of all
others the "delights" of music. Then come the
details of the catastrophe. The child is born on
Friday morning, and all goes well until Sunday, when
the happy mother is so amused with some story a kind
lady friend tells her, that she has to be checked in her
mirth. Then she expresses a desire that her child
shall be named after Mr. Sopwith's father, Jacob,
but soon after is seized suddenly with excruciating
internal pain, which continues with little intermission,
and in the presence of her husband and parents she
sinks into death on Tuesday afternoon, July 28th.

With the practical common sense which marked him
in all his life, Mr. Sopwith met his terrible bereavement
by holding himself close to his work. He summoned
resolution to walk a great deal, to endeavour to take his
meals as usual, to converse with all the cheerfulness he
could command, and to sleep as regularly as was possible.
Happily for him, just at this juncture a new and, as it
may also be called, a novel duty came to him, by his
being invited, through his friend the Rev. John Hodgson,
to undertake a commission for Sir John Swinburne
to survey from Otterburn to Newcastle. Undertaking
this duty, he was led by it to visit Capheaton, the
seat of Sir John Swinburne, to receive his instruc-
tions for the survey. Here he met with a most kind

48 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1828-29.

reception from all the family, and forthwith started on
a survey, the novelty of which served as a most useful
diversion to his mind.

On October 16th Mr. Sop with began to be closely
engaged in his new duties, in making parliamentary
surveys for two lines of railway. He left Newcastle with
much regret, owing to the circumstance of his father,
Mr. Jacob Sop with, being extremely ill ; and on the 20th
received a message at Newham Edge that his father had
experienced an apoplectic seizure, with which his life had
terminated. By this event he became the possessor of
all the property and stock connected with his father's
business which he at once determined to continue at
least for a time.

In the course of the following month, Mr. Sopwith
was admitted to the freedom of the Joiners' Company;
he paid for the honour £5 lis., namely — fees, £4 9s. ;
stamp, £1 ; and warden 2s.

In many senses, the year 1829 was eventful and painful
to my friend. He had sustained two severe domestic
losses in the deaths of his wife and father, each of which
had affected him severely. On the other hand, he had
secured many advantages, that were to him sources of
special pleasure. He had, as we have seen, met dis-
tinguished men in Edinburgh, and to these he had added
other friends, such as Campbell, the African traveller;
Ward, the writer of a work on Mexico; and Sir John
Swinburne. He had also been engaged in labours which
were most congenial to his tastes. He had engraved
plans of mines in Mexico for Mr. John Taylor, had drawn
geological plans of mines near his native place, and had
become one of the first of the engineers connected with
the gigantic development of railway industry. To him,

1828-29.] DARK FOREBODINGS. 49

at that time, this last-named industry appeared as a kind
of dream certain to be true and yet seeming quite im-
possible of attainment to the full result suggested. I
heard him once express regret that he did not at this
period take exclusively to railway engineering, inasmuch
as the field was open to him. But towards the close of
this eventful year his mind was at times gloomy and filled
with forebodings, " as if a dark cloud hung over him,"
as he expresses it in a passage in his diary, and for a
season was even " embittered." In the midst of this he
was enchained by local sympathies ; so, although the
opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway a short
time before, and the forthcoming opening of the Liver-
pool and Manchester line, had stirred in him a warm
enthusiasm, which was intensified somewhat by his own
work of parliamentary surveying, he let the opportunity
go by of being a leader in railway enterprise, and limited
himself largely to mining, as a branch of his profession
that was to occupy him chiefly through the remaining
portion of his active life.

CHAPTEE VIII.

FROM NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE TO LOXDOX.
1830.

•HE earl)- part of 1830 found Mv. Sop with re-
douiesticated in Newcastle, with his hands
very full of business indeed. He began by
inventing a new cabinet for business papers,
which afterwards, with various improvements, became one
of the most ingenious and useful office cabinets that was
ever produced. He arranged his cash books in three
volumes ; one for his every-day business, another for
surveying, and a third for miscellanies. He commenced
also the systematic study of geology under the Rev.
Robert Turner, and undertook much surveying in in-
clement weather and under difficult circumstances. At
this time he continued, in more methodical form, his
diary so as to give it permanency of character.

On February 2nd he left Newcastle at six o'clock in
the morning in the " Chevy Chase " coach for Edinburgh,
and in the midst of snow reached the last-named place
after a journey of fifteen hours and a half. On the
following morning, with a four-horse coach, he drove to
Kerswell House, Lanarkshire, to obtain Mr. Lisle's assent
to the Otterburn line. He returned to Edinburgh the

1830.] FROM NEWCASTLE-ONTYNE TO LONDON. 51

same night, dined with Professor Pillans, and the next
day got back to Newcastle.

in March Mr. Sopwith paid his first visit to London,
to give evidence in reference to a Bill at this time
before Parliament ; and as a memento of travelling sixty
years ago I give the story entire from his diary.

"I left Newcastle in the Wellington coach on Sunday
morning, March 7th, at 5 o'clock. Darkness and a well-known
country afforded little to occupy attention, and having no com-
panions I had abundant scope for reflection.

"I was really surprised to find myself at Durham so soon,
for the awe of a comparatively long journey seemed to have
taken away all idea of length of time, or distance from lesser
portions of it. A hazy morning obscured the distant view, but
on crossing Framwellgate Bridge and observing the rugged
battlements of the Castle, the smooth surface of the Wear, the
Prebend's Bridge, the woody banks, and splendid towers of the
Cathedral, I felt convinced that a more admirable combination
of interesting and picturesque objects would rarely be equalled*
and probably in no part of England excelled.

" The road in the county of Durham is at present in no
commendable state of repair.

"On entering Yorkshire, the roads are much better and
the country flat. Northallerton Church is a venerable Gothic
edifice ; from thence to Thirsk, the view on the right is confined,
but on the other side is extensive and beautiful. The village
of Lawton is delightfully seated on a luxuriant hill-side, and an
extensive and cultivated view is terminated by the range of
moorlands, on which much snow was yet remaining.

" The milestones hereabouts are extremely neat, made of
wood or cast iron, and having raised letters of metal upon
them.

" As we approached Thirsk, the beauty of the country was
enhanced by the increasing fineness of the clay, and at one
o'clock a most interesting prospect of rugged and snow-clad

52 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

hills, limestone cliffs, and a luxuriant valley of well-cultivated
land was brightened by the smiles of an unclouded sun and
clear azure sky. The neighbourhood of Thirsk in summer must
be extremely beautiful, the land is of good quality, and the
whole face of the country thickly studded with hedgerow trees ;
the church is a very beautiful Gothic structure.

"On arriving at York I spent the half -hour allowed for
dinner in viewing the exterior of the Minster. The sun shone
brightly on the west front, and thus presented in the most
favourable light a scene of architectural magnificence far sur-
passing anything of the kind I had ever before seen.

" The very excellent delineations, however, not only of the
main features, but also of the most minute details in halfpenny
and other books had so familiarised me to them that I can
hardly say that it either surpassed or fell short of my anticipa-
tions ; the latter would indeed be an almost impossible case, for
what but very accurate representations could incite anything
like a just conception of so truly noble a fabric 1 The watchman
of the Minster (at whose door I chanced to ask whether admit-
tance could be gained) went with a key to two doors, but they
were bolted within by the vergers, who were not to be found.
A young man came up to me, and very civilly explained several
particulars of the building before parting, and on my naming
that I came from Newcastle, he said he had a brother in that
town, a Mr. Wilkinson of the Asylum. He kindly offered to
show me the localities of York if I should again visit it.

" The old bridge over the Ouse and the picturesque houses
which adjoined it are now removed, and a very stately bridge
of elegant and massive architecture, and modern erections,
supply their place.

" The country near York is mostly very flat, well wooded, and
in summer must indeed be beautiful. Its attractions were not
however (at this season) powerful enough to recompense the
severe cold of an outside seat, so after passing Tadcaster I
resumed my inside place for the night, wrote these few notes,
and read the ' Pictures of London ' until dusk.

1830.] FROM NEIVC A STLE-ONTYNE TO LONDON 53

" That anticipation and remembrance of pleasing events or
interesting scenes form a very large portion of human happiness
is universally admitted, and have generally been considered to
afford both a more intense and longer-continued pleasure than
the immediate enjoyment of them. Indeed the latter is fre-
quently unaccompanied with much gratification, and seems as
if merely furnishing the means of the enjoyment itself.

" The sight of York Minster was a treat I had always
anticipated with much pleasure. I had beheld it with great
pleasure, and the limited period of twenty minutes for viewing
it seemed to have elapsed in the compass of as many seconds.
The light colour of the stone, the boldness and clearness of the
details, and the brilliant lights and shadows of the setting sun
on the west front, left a vivid impression on my mind, which,
after night had closed external objects from attention, afforded
the most agreeable remembrance; its beauties seemed heightened
by imagination, and at intervals through the night the image
of this holy and beautiful house seemed like a golden dream to
occupy my thoughts, and required some" exercise of thought
to remember that the object of these waking visions actually
existed, was the work of men's hands, and that its light and
airy form, instead of being a bright delusion, really and common-
place-like 'stood upon the ground.'

"The exterior exhibits few indications of the lamentable ruin
which in 1828 befel its beautiful Choir. Several new pinnacles
and cornices have replaced those which were destroyed ; their
lightness and beauty, the crispness of ornament, and the bright
sunshine on them, gave them an effect as if springing up from
fairy rather than human hands, and most incontestably prove
that architecture requires the means but wants not the power
to equal the most splendid works of former times. My young
friend informed me that parties frequently visit the interior
by moonlight, especially at midnight, when the lunar beams
flow directly through the marigold window, — spectacle beside
which even the ' Fair Melrose ' must hide its diminished
head.

54 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

"Near Tadcaster two hats, with a lady appended to each,
succeeded in gaining admission to my hitherto solitary berth.
A few commonplace remarks, the addition of a gentleman
grievously ill of lumbago, and eventually a profound silence,
afforded so little interest that I willingly resigned myself into
the more attractive arms of Morpheas, and slept soundly all
the way to Doncaster.

" After a most comfortable tea and supper, I resumed my
journey under very favourable auspices.

" The hats and lumbago were gone, and in then" room a most
tremendous white great coat formed an excellent pillow, on
which, with few exceptions, I slept almost as comfortably and
soundly as if in bed, till morning. Now and then the rattling
on a pavement, the coachman's horn, and the houses 'whizzing'
past the coach windows, betokened a town, and but for excessive
cold the sight of these and of the country by the unclouded
light of the full moon woidd have rendered an outside seat
very pleasant.

" Doncaster seems to contain many excellent houses. At
Bawtry I looked out for the division of the counties, and
entered Nottinghamshire at eleven o'clock. After this I was
little wiser of my journey until six o'clock, when another hat
and its inhabitant entered with the grateful intelligence that
we were only ten miles from breakfast. Not finding her dis-
posed to be communicative, I took another doze, and awoke
on entering Stamford. This is a large well-built town, with a
handsome Gothic church, and two or three others, of which
I only saw the spires.

" After washing and making a hearty breakfast, I entered
the coach again, quite as little fatigued as at the commence-
ment of my journey twenty-seven hours before.

" At the south end of Stamford is a beautiful entrance gate
to the park and pleasure grounds of Burghley Park, the seat
of the Marquis of Exeter, which extend over a vast space of
ground, and are filled with numerous herds of deer. The
general character of all the country hereabouts is flat; the

1 830.] FROM NEWCASTLE- ON- TYNE TO LONDON. 55

fields large ; hedges good ; the land mostly of superior quality,
diversified with plantations and scattered trees ; windmills
very abundant, and churches every here and there.

" At Wansford Inn is a sign of the bridge, and under it
'What? Wansford in England ! '

" On approaching Huntingdon the road is more hilly, the
surface is formed of gravel, is in good repair, and of great
width. A large tract of country appears to the west, which
on a clear summer's day must be very beautiful. Stokesly is
a pleasant little village with a most picturesque ivy-covered
tower to a Gothic church.

" Huntingdonshire County Gaol stands a short distance north
of the town of Huntingdon, in some fields east of the road ; it
is of modern erection, has a neat front to the south, and an
apparently limited area; is inclosed on the other three sides
by a lofty stone wall, strengthened with numerous narrow
buttresses ; which seems exceedingly injudicious, as I believe
there are few sailors who would find much difficulty in climb-
ing either up or down them.

" Huntingdon seems a very clean and neat town, at least
that portion of it which we passed was remarkably so ; many
of the houses are stuccoed, the pavement good, and numerous
trees and gardens gave a very beautiful effect to the whole,
even at this season ; in summer it must be very beautiful.

" The first symptoms of ' London ' now appeared in the
shape of a gentleman driver, son of one of the proprietors,
who, in a black dress-coat and top-boots, took the reins from
thence to London, a distance of about sixty miles. The country
continues extremely beautiful until we approach the northern
border of Hertfordshire, when, being incumbent on chalk beds,
the soil is cold and poor, the surface bare and treeless, and a
naked ridge of hills presents an uncomfortable aspect. The
road here is nearly straight for many miles, and is on the site
of the Roman military way ; on passing Royston it climbs
a steep hill, and from the summit the prospect south, though
somewhat improved, is still very bare and uninteresting.

56 THOMAS SOPTVIIH, F.R.S. [1830.

Nothing could now exceed the extreme clearness of the
air and the enlivening effect of a bright sunshine, which
presented the country in a most enchanting manner, but (for
in this there is always a but or an if) the cold was very
piercing, and confined me to the inside until the attractions
of the immediate vicinity of London, and the desire to see as
much as possible of that magnificent city, induced me to prefer
the outside.

" From sixteen miles from London the road seems one
continued country village, with only a few intervening spaces
of road for two or three hundred yards. It was dark as we
entered the stone-paved streets of London, where the brilliant
effect of the gas and the bustle of the people very much
corresponded with the idea I had formed of London. At seven
o'clock we reached the Bull and Mouth Inn, after a journey
of 273 miles, performed in 33 hours."

The following memoranda of the expenses of this and
of one or two subsequent journeys are curious as con-
trasted with the charges of railway travelling in our
time.

The inside fare of the Wellington Coach from New-
castle to London was £4 10s. ; breakfast at Ruthyford
was 2s. ; dinner at different stages 7s. ; tea at Doncaster
and breakfast at Stamford 2s. 3d. and 2s. Qd. ; the fees
to guards and drivers were 17s. Total expense £6 0s. 9d.
for travelling 273 miles in 33 hours.

On the 17th of the same month (March, 1830) the
expenses from London to Newcastle were : inside fare,
£5 15s. ; breakfast and dinner, 6s. 6d. ; and guards and
drivers, 17s. 6d. ; being in all £6 19s. The distance 273
miles ; time 30 hours.

On the 22nd of the same month, on a journey in the
mail from Newcastle to London, the sums were : inside
fare, £6 6s. ; breakfast, dinner, and tea, 9s,j guards and

1830.] FROM NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE TO LONDON. 57

drivers, 17s.; in all £7 12s. Distance 273 miles ; time
32^ hours.

The mean of these is £6 17s. 6r/., or at the rate of
6d. per mile; and the mean time, including stoppages,
8*15 miles an hour.

In conversation in later years Mr. Sopwith was very
fond of comparing the facilities and economics of travel
in these days with what existed in the earlier periods of
his life. He told me once that under these influences
he had no doubt he had lived to see the amount of
travelling by the community more than quadrupled, and
the safety and convenience proportionately increased. At
the same time he had a kind of lingering love for the
coach and four horses ; and he believed that, as time
afforded greater pleasure of life, the old turnpikes might
still have a new career, either with horses as of yore, or
more likely with steam or electric engines as the motor
powers. Richard Trevithick's steam-carriage ride from
Bath to London at twelve miles an hour in the beginning
of the century was, he thought, good ground for his
prophecy.

CHAPTEE IX.

LONDON SIXTY YEARS AGO, FROM A NORTHUMBRIANS
FIRST VIEW. NATIONAL REPOSITORY OF ARTS.
GREENWICH HOSPITAL. LONDON CURIOSITIES.

1830.

iT the close of the last chapter we followed
Mr. Sopwith into the metropolis, in the year
1830. He alighted, as we have seen, at the
famous Bull and Mouth Inn, which, with
characteristic voraciousness, swallowed him readily. It
did not, however, retain him long, for after taking a cup
of tea, feeling no fatigue from the journey, he set out on
his peregrinations through London.

The particulars of this visit to the rnetrorjolis he has
written down in his journal with great precision, and
as the narrative of London, sixty years ago, is extremely
interesting I submit it as it came from his pen.

" After consulting my map, I took a walk round St. Paul's
Cathedral, which (and the same occurred to me at York
Minster) seemed scarcely so large as I expected. It is, how-
ever, a truly magnificent fabric, and those who would ' view
St. Paul's aright ' should ' visit it by the bright sunlight.'
I was, however, glad of an opportunity of seeing it by moon-
light, and, great as were my expectations, they certainly were
in no respect disappointed.

1830.] LONDON SIXTY YEARS AGO. 59

" As to its apparent dimensions, that I had often heard
commented on, and the deceptive effect of huge masses, whether
mountains or buildings, had often before excited my surprise.
That the Campanile towers of St. Paul's are twenty feet higher
than the steeples of St. Nicholas' and All Saints' in Newcastle,
and the dome a hundred and fifty feet higher than the great
tower of York Minster, is what well-authenticated statements
may inform us, but what the most attentive examination and
comparison of the objects themselves seems to be incapable of
confirming.

" I continued my walk along Ludgate Hill, down New Bridge
Street, and along Blackfriars Bridge to Southwark. From
Blackfriars Boad I went westward by Stamford Street,
returned to London by Waterloo Bridge, went to Drury Lane
Theatre, and, finally, returned to the inn, without ever once
asking my way or missing my road.

" What a difference a penny makes ! Blackfriars Bridge
was crowded, Waterloo Bridge seemed, and indeed was at this
time, a most delightful and almost unfrequented walk. A
peal of eight bells in Southwark sounded very like those of
All Saints' in Newcastle.

" The broad surface of the Thames, the magnificent front of
Somerset House, and the heavy gloom that seemed thrown
like a mantle over this vast metropolis, excited a train of
interesting thoughts, all concentrated in the one vast and
comprehensive and inexpressible idea of ' London.'

" I had the happiness to enter Drury Lane in the very
plenitude of a most uproarious tumult. Kean had that night
appeared for the first time as King Henry V., and four acts of
that play had been represented ; eighteen minutes had, however,
elapsed, and no symptoms of the remaining act. The clamour
was deafening, and at length the curtain rose. In vain was the
attempt to perform ; a whole scene acted with resolute per-
severance passed in dumb show, and at length Kean was
compelled to come forward. After much clamour he said,
that for twenty years he had had the honour of appearing

60 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

before them, and been honoured with their approbation, and
now (I understood him to say), for the first time, stood before
them in disgrace. On this the yells were repeated, and much
noise and confusion interrupted his apology. When I again
heard him, it seemed to me a rhodomontade about being an
Englishman, and, striking his breast, appealed to them ' as
Englishmen ' ! ! This did the business ; the incensed and justly
irritated ' John Bull ' first melted into pity, and, with genuine
consistency, honoured the offender with loud and repeated
plaudits.

" The fifth act, however, was completed very speedily, and a
great deal omitted, owing, I strongly suspect, to some altera-
tion of the chief performer. This contraction of the play was
too obvious not to excite dissatisfaction, but, happily, the rising
storm was quelled by the able execution of the magnificent
overture to Der Freischutz, which the audience had the good
taste very loudly to applaud. I was much pleased with the
music of this piece, especially the laughing and hunting chorus.
But the scenery, and very singular stage effects produced, were
beyond anything that my imagination could have previously
conceived.

" The scene of the Incantation was gradually wrought up
to a most horrible, hideous, and truly appalling spectacle. A
large owl flapping his wings, green dragons, and ill-omened
birds hovering in the air, with fiery serpents, green lights, etc.,
moving in all directions ; fiends with burning faces ; skeletons,
and a livid picture of Pandemonium, with a falling shower of
fire and demoniacal screams, completed the horrid climax.

" Drury Lane presents a semicircle of four galleries ; the
lowest has panels richly painted and gilt, the upper three
have gold ornaments in bold relief, on a salmon-coloured
ground. The ceiling is a flat ellipse, divided by gilt ribs into
seventeen compartments, with golden ornaments in relief. A
very handsome glass chandelier is suspended from the centre.
The galleries (part of which are the boxes) are supported by
metal columns, extremely light and elegant, and richly gilt.

1830.] LONDON SIXTY YEARS AGO. 61

On each side of the stage are two very splendid Corinthian
columns, so made as to have all the richness of real columns,
while, at the same time, they do not greatly intercept the
sight. The frontispiece is very deep, and has a splendid effect ;
it represents a crimson velvet curtain, with the Royal Arms
and medallions of George and the Dragon in gold. The drop
scene is a fine Ionic colonnade, and classic landscape.

"The theatre was very well filled. I made the following
hasty computation of the number of people that may with ease
and comfort be contained in it.

Persons.

The Pit 600

Boxes and Galleries .... 1,800
Stage Boxes and Gallery above . . 120

2,520

" The orchestra consisted of thirty-six musicians.

" The staircase and lobby of this theatre are very beautiful ;
in the latter is a fine statue of Shakespeare.

" The saloon is a magnificent apartment ; a considerable
portion of the sides is covered with plate looking-glass, and
thus ' many reflections ' are cast among the ' gay and licentious
crowds ' who resort to this seat of luxury, forgetful how little
conducive is the pursuit of mere pleasure to the real welfare
of man.

"On Tuesday morning (March 9th), I rose at six, and
wrote till nine, breakfasted .with Mr. Percival Fen wick at 15,
Featherstone Buildings, Holborn, and went with him to
Mr. Bramwell's office. We afterwards looked into the Court,
where the Master of the Rolls was presiding, and into Lincoln's
Inn Hall, where we saw the Lord Chancellor. His lordship
is a healthy, vigorous, good-looking man, far from being
' stricken in years,' and seemed, by frequently changing his
position and looking very indifferent and unconcerned, as if
he would -willingly hear the end of a long and seemingly very
uninteresting story which a learned gentleman was relating
to him.

62 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1830.

" Above the judges' seat is a large painting of Paul before
Felix, either a copy or the original by Hogarth, most probably
the latter.

" After engaging lodgings at 42, Wilmington Square, Spa
Fields, and removing my luggage from the inn, I went, after
calling at Mr. Ord's, to meet Fenner, agent for the Bill, in
the lobby of the House of Commons. On leaving him I
walked through the interior of Westminster Abbey, an edifice
which, in many respects, falls very short of my expectations.
I speak with humility in anything that has been directed by
superior taste and judgment, but I cannot help thinking that
the interior of the Abbey and King Henry VII. 's Chapel might,
at no great expense, be rendered far more beautiful and im-
posing than it now is. The organ is a plain, commonplace
looking instrument, no way suitable to so august a pile ; and
the waxworks seem to me in miserable taste. In extent,
solemnity, and slenderness of the columns, the whole interior
disappointed me. Not so the monuments ; they are truly
magnificent and deeply interesting. Deep, and powerful, and
holy are the impressions they are calculated to make ; the
greatest, the wealthiest, the worthiest, the most learned and
able men that adorn the annals of our country here repose in
one sleep of oblivion.

" The splendid memorials erected to perpetuate their memory
speak many a lesson to the contemplative mind, and who can
stand on the slab that covers the mouldering temple of so
much wit and genius, and read the simple inscription,

'GEORGE CANNING,'

without feeling, with acuteness, the destiny of all the human
race 1

" Many of the monuments excited great admiration, but
none more so than that of Lady Nightingale. It is a truly
inimitable design, and great as were my expectations of it,
they were most abundantly fulfilled.

"There is no longer reason for complaint on the score of

1 830.] LONDON SIXTY YEARS AGO. 63

exorbitant charges for seeing this structure and its interesting
contents. For the moderate sum of fifteen pence the visitor has
not only the privilege of seeing every part of the building, but
is also attended by one of the vergers, who points out the most
remarkable and interesting features, and relates some particulars
of their history. It is obvious that a gratuitous admission
would render the place a thoroughfare for the rabble, and as
the attendants are strictly prohibited by a public notice from
demanding further fees, those who for so high a gratification
as should be derived, object to so moderate a fee, may have
at least this consolation, that they lose an enjoyment which a
narrow and parsimonious mind could derive a small share
indeed of gratification from.

" After calling at Mr. Topham's, in Bermonclsey, I returned
by London Bridge, saw the magnificent structure intended to
supersede the present bridge, and on passing had a ' keek at '
the ' pearl o' the City.' I spent the whole evening at my
lodgings, and in the ease and comfort of a cheerful fireside,
with plenty of maps, books, and papers to occupy me, I find
as much, nay more, real peace and true enjoyment than in the
gayest and most splendid fascinations which have yet attracted
my notice.

" March 10th. — Bose at seven, wrote and breakfasted till nine,
hired a hackney for an hour, made several calls, and attended
Divine service at St. Paul's Cathedral at ten.

" The vast and splendid interior of this magnificent Cathedral
excited great admiration, and the impression was much
heightened by the rattling echoes of the organ pealing from
vault to vault, and filling the august pile with deep and
solemn chords. The Choir, though certainly beautiful, is both
less appropriate and picturesque than that at Durham, and
to me afforded a convincing proof that Grecian and Boman
architecture is incapable of the solemn and venerable character
so peculiar to the Gothic style.

" The organ of St. Paul's is suitable in design to the character
of the building, but to me seemed far less attractive than the

64 THOMAS S0PWI1H, F.R.S. [1830.

old and venerable-looking one at Durham. As to their com-
parative merits in a musical point of view I am in no way
adequate to judge. St. Paul's seemed very powerful, and is
allowed to be a very fine instrument, but it did not impress
me with those ideas of richness and sweetness of melody which
I have so often been delighted with at Durham.

"As to the chanting in St. Paul's I was miserably disappointed.
I did not expect that it would excel, and scarcely expected that
it would equal, that at Durham ; but so wide a difference, so
very decided and indisputable an inferiority, I was in no way
prepared to expect. On many, certainly on nearly all things,
I would give an opinion with much diffidence in powers so
incompetent as mine are to form a judgment on such subjects,
but, in this particular instance, diffidence or hesitation in
advancing the opinion I express would only be hypocrisy.
The harsh, I had almost said unmusical, chanting which I
this day heard in St. Paul's can never be put in comparison
with the heavenly cadence and exquisite harmony of Durham.
To hear the one I have often gone many miles, to hear the
other I would not go as many yards.

" After leaving the Cathedral and making some calls, I went
to Southwark Bridge, and spent an hour with Miss Scott at
her father's in Thames Street. I afterwards heard the
Appollonicon, and was much pleased with the performance. I
then walked by Pall Mall east to Regent Street, and by it to
Regent's Park, where I saw the Diorama and Colosseum,
walked round Regent's Park, and returned home, where I
drank tea, and spent the evening writing, etc.

" When it is considered that the paintings in the Diorama are
drawn with critical accuracy, and the effect so striking as to
seem a perfect reality, it was to me very interesting to see such
a representation of the interior of St. Peter's at Rome on the
same day as that of visiting St. Paul's.

" The Appollonicon is a musical instrument invented by
Flight and Robson, organ-builders to his Majesty, and is
exhibited at then- manufactory in St. Martin's Lane. It is, in

1830.] LONDON SIXTY YEARS AGO. 65

fact, a very large organ, with a great variety of pipes and
other musical accompaniments which imitate different instru-
ments. It is capable of great nicety of modulation, and its
full powers are tremendously effective. It performed, by
machinery, the overtures to Figaro and to Der Frieschutz with
astonishing brilliancy, and to all who have any love for music
the Appollonicon can scarcely fail to afford a most agreeable
entertainment. In front of it are several sets of piano keys,
by which five or six performers can play at the same time.

'■' Waterloo Place and Regent Street present an imposing
exterior (the design of which cannot but excite much admiration),
and if they were constructed of real stone would, as streets, be
unparalleled for grandeur and magnificence. The want of stone
which has rendered it necessary to have recourse to stucco, is a
-rent disparagement to London, and in this respect the Scotch
have just reason to boast of a mighty superiority in their
northern capital.

" It seems to me, that the stamp of true greatness cannot be
affixed to any work where ' Imitation ' is a prevailing feature,
and this idea has been very much confirmed by observing the
stuccoed buildings of London. In colouring those houses also,
a very marvellous bad taste and want of management occurs,
in making the middle of ornamental columns the line of
division, so that where a pillar of one dingy hue might seem
to be of stone, a partial colouring of it tells to every passing
stranger, ' I am not what I would be thought to be.' It must,
however, be admitted that stucco is a vast improvement to a
brick building when architectural embellishment is introduced ;
when this is not the case I would prefer the humble but
' honest ' face of brick before the more specious and deceptive
covering of stucco.

" The Diorama of the interior of St. Peter's gave a very
excellent, and I doubt not a very accurate, idea of that noble
structure. The imposing effect and reality of these works of
art can only be appreciated by eye-witnesses, and show to what
an amazing extent human industry and perseverance can go.

5

66 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

An organ playing some of the beautiful symphonies of the
Italian service would have added much to the interest of the
scene, and by partly attracting the imagination would in some
measure heighten the pictorial illusion by diverting the eye
from the sole employment of scrutinizing it.

" But beautiful and interesting as was this and the other
view of the Diorama, they were far exceeded by the representa-
tion of London in the Colosseum.

" The accounts which I had frequently read of this exhibition,
had raised very high expectations, but no description, however
minute and accurate, and no anticipations, however sanguine,
can afford a correct idea of this surprising work. The dimensions
of the building are such as to create astonishment; it is polygonal,
having sixteen faces, each 25 feet in length, and the external
diameter is 126 feet. The interior of the wall of the Colosseum
is covered with a panoramic representation of London as seen
from the top of St. Paul's. It is painted on 40,000 square
feet of canvas, nearly an acre in extent. In the centre is an
ascending room which would contain from ten to twenty persons,
and is raised by machinery to the first gallery.

" This gallery has balustrades resembling those round the
upper gallery of St. Paul's cupola ; beneath this gallery is a
projecting frame of wood, so formed and painted as to resemble
the great dome of St. Paid's, while a projecting canopy above
conceals the roof of the building. The range of vision is thus
confined to that portion of the wall which is entirely covered
with the painting. No language can describe the extraordinary
effect produced on this amazing surface of canvas, and nothing
but a perfect conviction that it really is painted on a flat surface
coidd counteract the impressions of distance it is calculated to
give. If the effect is wonderful, still more wonderful is the
surprising accuracy with which every minute object in this
extensive view is delineated, and almost incredible is the
industry and perseverance by which alone such a painting could
be executed. The first sight of it is calculated to create, and
does almost invariably create, much astonishment. An L'ish

1830.] LONDON SIXTY YEARS AGO. 67

gentleman who came in when I was there inquired several
times if the dome below us was that which he had seen from
the outside; when assured that it was not, and that it was in
the interior of the building, nothing could exceed his amazement.
Gazing with convinced but wondering eyes, he involuntarily
exclaimed, ' Lord God Almighty ! is it possible 1 ' — a testimony
of his wonder which, though very objectionable, seemed a
most unfeigned expression of the very highest surprise and
admiration.

''Thursday, March Wth. — Made several calls and saw a great
portion of the western part of London.

" Went in the afternoon to the House of Commons ; got four
franks * from Mr. Orel, and spent the evening at home writing
letters, and with one or two friends who called.

" One of these friends was Mr. R. S. Richardson, with whom
in former years I had spent many pleasant hours, and for whom
I ever entertained much respect. His intention to leave England
had led to cessation of correspondence, and to find him again, in
good health and comfortably situated, afforded me more genuine
pleasure than I had experienced since my arrival in London.

" Friday, March \Wi. — Waited on Mr. Percival Fenwick, and
after preparing some estimates and other papers required by
Parliament, walked with Mr. Clennell to Mr. Bramwell's office
in the Temple. Called upon Mr. Bell at his house in Wimpole
Street and attended a Committee of the House in the smoking
room. Sir M. W. Ridley, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Lidclell, Mr. Bell,
Mr. Ord, and Mr. R. F. Wilson were present. The Committee
adjourned till Tuesday following, in consequence of a Petition
from the Free Burgesses of Newcastle respecting the Town Moor.

"By Mr. Ord's recommendation I was admitted into the
gallery of the House of Commons, and from the front seat of
the Strangers' Gallery had an excellent opportunity of observing
the proceedings. But for previous information, the interior
of St. Stephen's would certainly strike a stranger as being

* The frank or free postage granted by members of Parliament before
the days of the postage stamp.

68 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

both small and mean as compared with the importance of the
matters transacted in it, and but for the same preventive of
surprise, the method of transacting those matters, guiding, as
they do, the political destinies of the world, would excite still
greater surprise.

" The House of Commons is a plain, ordinary-looking place.
The Speaker's chair stands on the floor, and has a high back
and cover, surmounted with the Royal Arms ; in front of it is
a large table, at which three clerks of the House are seated. It
is covered with red cloth, has a number of books and papers
lying promiscuously upon it, and at certain times the mace is
laid on it.

" On each side of the Speaker's chair are ranges of seats, rising
from the floor to the wall, five on each side. Those on the
right of the chair are usually occupied by Ministerial members,
and those on the opposite side by the Opposition. There are
also cross benches behind the chair, common to both parties,
and galleries, which are rarely occupied.

" Opposite the chair is a gallery for the public, to which
admission can be had at any time for 2s. Qd., or by an order
or verbal 'pass' from a member to the door-keeper. The
back seat of this gallery is appropriated for the reporters, a
situation which would almost seem to prevent them either
seeing or hearing anything of what is going on below. Behind
it is a gallery communicating with two staircases, one of which
is for the ingress, the other for the egress of the public ; so
that when the gallery is cleared for a division, those who,
having a back seat, get first out, stand the best chance of being
first in again when re-admission is permitted. The reporters,
however, have a retiring room allowed them. The extreme
sang-froid of Mr. Speaker in the execution of his duties is
very amusing. A venerable old gentleman with an immense
parchment roll pointed to the Speaker, was most impressively
mumbling a relation of the ' why and wherefore,' while Mr.
Speaker, the party formally addressed, was directing his
attention to quite another subject.

1830.] LONDON SIXTY YEARS AGO. 69

"On the Gloster and Avon Railway Bill a very animated
discussion arose, in which several members took a part. A verbal
understanding had, it appeared, been entered into, two years
ago, which ' solemn compact ' it was contended was sought to
be violated by one of the parties now applying for the Bill
before the House. Mr. Bright of Bristol spoke very vehemently
on the question, and most warmly contended for the sacredness
of the engagement formerly made. He called on Mr. Speaker,
and lie called on the Honourable House, to show ' Honourable
Gentlemen ' that such engagements could not thus be set aside ;
and all the while Mr. Speaker, insensible to the flow of oratory
thus poured upon him, was most coolly and pleasantly discours-
ing to a gentleman beside him, and with his face quite in a
different direction to that in which the stream of eloquent ex-
ordium was flowing. All of a sudden, a bustling noise, and several
members walking out, with 'Walk out, gentlemen — quick,
walk out, walk out,' were the outward and visible tokens of a
division of the House, and consequent clearing of the gallery.
The routine of receiving petitions and reading Bflls is, to a
stranger, I think I might almost say farcical, if such an expres-
sion be allowable for what, on the stage, would certainly not
fail to create much amusement.

" Every now and then Mr. Speaker rose and quickly repeated
a brief form of words, to which not one of the members seemed
to be paying the least attention. The form, as well as I could
make it out, was this (a strong emphasis and protracted tone
distinguishing the words written larger) : ' You that are of
opinion that this Petition be received say Aye • you that are of
a contrary opinion say ISTo ; the Ayes have it.' And this as
fast as the sentence can be uttered, without any real ayeing
or noing on the part of the members; so that of a number
of Petitions and Bills read, probably eighteen or twenty in
number, the Ayes always had it.

" I had an opportunity of hearing and admiring some observa-
tions made by Lord Lowther ; they related merely to a private
petition and afforded no scope for eloquence, but I was much

7o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

pleased with the ease and gracefulness of his manner. By-
gracefulness I mean that courteous and dignified address which
so well becomes a British senator, and one who may in time
be one of the chief est nobles of the land.

" If I had returned into the gallery I would have heard a
number of very interesting debates and many excellent speeches
by the principal members. Mr. Liddell introduced the North-
umberland petition, and many highly interesting subjects were
to come under discussion. Of this I was aware, and yet I
preferred returning home and spending the evening there.

" Home (even a temporary one) has attractions powerful at
all times, but when vivid impressions of sorrow remain, when
the mind, even in the midst of the most splendid and powerful
attractions, will revert to scenes that fly on memory's wings
like shadows of departed joys, — at such times, — and who has
ever been entirely free from such impressions ? — home, sweet
home, that calm, and tranquil, and holy temple of the wounded
mind, is the only place congenial to such feelings, the only
place where, at such times, real peace and happiness can be
found.

" On the following day I called and spent part of the fore-
noon at Mr. John Scott's. Being in the immediate vicinity of
the Monument, I took this opportunity of ascending it, and the
prospect amply repays the labour of ascending so great a height.
Accompanied by Miss Scott I then spent some time in see-
ing the monuments and other treasures of the great lion of
London lions, St. Paul's. Every visit to this stupendous and
magnificent structure increases my admiration of it. There is
only one, word that can convey a true idea of its grandeur, and
that ivord, if attentively read and diligently attended to, can-
not fail to afford a vivid, a correct, and an indelible impression
of the glories of this august temple. That word is inscribed
on the monument of Sir Christopher Wren at the entrance of
the choir, and must there be read. It is —

'■ ' < '1RCUMSPICE ! '

"The notes of the ' deep-labouring organ ' rolled from vault

1830.] LONDON SIXTY YEARS AGO. 71

to vault, and its magnificent tones were heard to great
advantage from the Whispering Gallery. My companion had
previously visited the upper galleries of the great dome, and
declined again undertaking the laborious ascent to them.
Having provided her a comfortable seat by a warm fire in the
library, she remained until I had made the ' grand tour ' of
this mountain of architecture. I went up alone, and carefully
examined the curious construction of the inner cupola, cone,
and timber framing. The climbing into the ball reminded me
very much of the rises in the lead mines ; and the civilities
(eighteen pennywort] 1) of my conductor as forcibly called to
my remembrance the friendly admonition of the miners, ' Take
care, maister, and dinna fall down the rise.'

" After returning to the library we visited the models, clock,
bell, and finally the crypts or vaults, the pocket sweating
pretty freely all the while ; though, after all, when the great
convenience of constant attendance on visitors is considered, I
do not think the charges exorbitant.

"The vaults I consider well worthy of the stranger's
attention ; a deep and heavy gloom fills their long aisles, and
well does this solemn effect accord with the sepulchral reminis-
cences that crowd upon the mind. Mere ' sight-seeing ' is an
occupation of which both eyes and mind soon grow weary, and
one bright and magnificent and attractive object succeeding
another, and then, again and again, superseded by similar
scenes, soon creates a sort of vacancy in the mind, or want of
aptitude for that species of enjoyment. The dark chambers
beneath the cathedral afford that transition which the mind
seems to long for, and fill it with mournfully pleasing and
interesting associations. The magnificent marble sarcophagus
of Nelson, the tomb of Collingwood, the little spot wherein is
laid the rearer of this mighty fabric, these and many other
objects offer much to occupy the contemplative mind, and to
impress the deepest convictions of the destiny of man, and of
the shadowy nature of all earthly pomp and glory; for in the
splendid tomb of Nelson we see what was erected by and

J 2 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

intended for the remains of him who might well exclaim, as
has by Shakespeare been attributed to him, ' Vain pomp and
glory of the world, I hate ye ! '

" Surely the pomp and glory of so august a Temple above,
and Wolsey's ' self -intended monument' below ; the triumphant
flags of victory hung proudly round the stupendous dome, and
the mouldering ashes that silently rest in the vaults beneath
them ; the gay and stirring crowds that throng around and
in this great temple, and the darkness, and silence, and loneli-
ness of these chambers of the dead, eloquently and fervently
proclaim the truths which, above all others, the living should
lay to heart.

" On the following morning I attended St. Paul's during the
musical part of the service, which, from the grandeur of the
organ, re-echoed from the stupendous vaults above, was very
imposing, but much less attractive than the Durham service.
I was much surprised that no anthem was sung after the
third Collect, according to the usual custom of cathedral
service, and still more surprised that the whole should seem so
devoid of that grace and beauty of expression which elsewhere
prevails, and which ought certainly to be found in the metro-
politan church of the kingdom.

" I then went to Bishopsgate Church in expectation of
hearing the Hon. and Rev. Edward Grey preach, but was
informed by a gentleman that Mr. Grey was to preach at St.
Sepulchre, in Snow Hill. Thither I hied with all speed, and
arrived just as the service commenced. I got an excellent seat,
and seldom have I experienced more gratification than was
afforded me by the excellent discourse of Mr. Grey and the
admirable music of a very excellent organ.

" The sermon was for the benefit of a Girls' Charity School,
the scholars of which sat in the organ gallery, and in their
simple attire, and with sweet and modest looks, seemed like
cherubs sent to awaken compassion in the hearts of men.

" A printed copy of a hymn, composed for the occasion, was
handed to me, and never will I forget the inimitable, the soul-

1830.] LONDON SIXTY YEARS AGO. 73

stirring sweetness with which these lovely babes sung their
humble praise. It was a simple but very devotional piece, and
every note impressed the most lively sensation of delight and
sympathy with the helpless choir. T even shed tears which
I coidd not control, and my heart earnestly responded that
benediction of our Saviour, ' Of such is the Kingdom of
Heaven.'

" Mr. Grey is, beyond all comparison, the most admirable
and impressive preacher I ever heard. His discourse was
truly excellent, and was delivered with that solemnity and
power which surely well becomes a Messenger of God, — a
Legate of the skies. Chaste, and simple, and dignified, and
expressive, the sermons of Mr. Grey seem to me as almost
perfect models of pulpit oratory ; at least I can truly say that
his sermons, more than any others I ever heard, have had a
lasting influence on my mind, and some of his eloquent passages
seem indelibly impressed on my memory. The doxologies were
all chanted, that too in a very superior manner. I think it
greatly relieves the monotony of our long liturgy, and as they
happened to sing two very favourite chants, the pleasure of
hearing them, added to the other and much higher grati-
fications of the sermon and hymn, made me truly thankful for
the incivility of a St. Paul's verger, but for whom I should have
been immured in the gallery of that Cathedral the whole of
the service, and only have seen the delivery of an inaudible
sermon.

" I dined with Mi-. Topham at his house in South wark. My
father had stood sponsor for his eldest child, and I was
requested now to undertake that office for his youngest one ;
with which, as it was particularly urged, I complied. Mr.
Topham had a numerous and intelligent party of friends on
the occasion. Immediately after tea I begged to be allowed
to leave, and returned home to my lodgings, where I spent the
evening very pleasantly among my books and papers.

"On Monday, March 15th, I went to the British Museum,
with a letter to Mr. Barber, one of the principal librarians,

74

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

who procured me a ticket for the Reading Rooms. It was
fully my intention to devote a portion of my time to copying
some extracts for the Rev. Mr. Hodgson, but unforeseen and
unexpected occurrences prevented me then, and numerous
engagements will, I fear, render it almost impossible for me to
devote any considerable portion of time to the seclusion of this
most author-like tabernacle, where books may be said to be
cut and dovetailed together with persevering and unfailing
diligence.

" The room in which the King's Library is placed is truly
magnificent. After viewing it I went through the Museum, and
found, as every one must find, a great deal to excite astonish-
ment and admiration. The Gallery of Sculptures was a most
delightful treat, and I longed for a week, and an intelligent
friend, to view its matchless contents.

"After leaving the Museum I dined at the Cafe Colosseum,
and proceeded to the House of Commons, where I attended a
Committee of the Lowgate Road Bill. I heard on this and
some other afternoons when at the .House, the afternoon ser-
vice in the Abbey. The chanting is sweeter than at St. Paul's,
and they sing an anthem. The interior of this venerable
structure gains upon me every visit ; my first visit greatly dis-
appointed me, and I candidly set down my ideas ; but ideas
change. It somehow or other falls short of my expectation,
and though it would be folly to dispute its claims to venerable
grandeur and solemnity, yet I think its general effect might
be improved by a uniform colouring like York Minster.
Artists may decry colouring as they like, and those who greatly
admire naked stone have much to confirm their views, but I
think that in an ornamented interior the architectural enrich-
ments and composition are seen to greater advantage when
of a uniform colour. Westminster Abbey, and Henry VII. 's
Chapel, with coloured and clean walls, and clean and dark-
coloured, brightly-varnished oak, would, I imagine, be much
more imposing in its effect than it now is ; but yet the pic-
turesque and gloomy grandeur of its long aisles and fretted

1830.] LONDON SIXTY YEARS AGO. 75

vaults cannot fail to excite much deep and solemn feeling,
and this feeling in me has certainly been increased by every
successive visit.

"At Mr. Martin's establishment, 104, Holborn, I saw by far
the finest specimens of lithography I ever met with or heard of.
They equal copper-plate etching in the fineness of the lines,
and can scarcely be distinguished from it. He gave me some
specimens, and showed me how very many impressions had
been taken from some of them without injury to the tenderness
and clearness of the ' hatching.' Professional men who have
seen the specimens are equally surprised and pleased.

" On this afternoon (and also on some others when attending
at the House), I returned to my lodgings by a very circuitous
route, by Vauxhall Bridge, Belgrave Square, and Hyde Park,
the principal places I fixed on before leaving home in the
morning, and took a small list of streets to guide me from
one to the other. In the town itself, after a few days, I felt
little or no difficulty in steering my course to any part of it,
and very seldom enquired my way. These long rambles soon
made me familiar with all the leading thoroughfares of the
western portion of London, and as I marked each day's route
out upon a map I could easily observe by it in what direction
and by what lines of streets I would be able to see the most
interesting squares or other principal streets. They had the
effect also of rendering home and tea very comfortable, and as
I had several estimates and other papers to examine, as well
as books and pamphlets to read, I never thought of leaving
them, but enjoyed with them the occasional company of my
friends Richardson, Newton, Davison, and others, — as much
real enjoyment as at this time could have been afforded me by
the most gay and attractive amusements.

" On Tuesday morning I went to Greenwich in a small boat.
The morning was very fine, though cold, and the face of Old
Father Thames in parts was ruffled with the wind.

" I had an excellent view of the bridges, especially of New
and Old London Bridges. The former is truly a magnificent

76 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

erection, and worthy of the first city in the world. The rapids
at the old hridge have a somewhat alarming appearance, and
are considered dangerous ; the boat shot through like an arrow,
and I understood from my guide that it was then less dangerous
than at some other periods of the tide. Flatness is the general
feature of the shore of the Thames, which, fringed with miles
of active commerce, and its auxiliary ships, wharves, docks,
warehouses, and manufactories, fill the mind with almost
overpowering ideas of the greatness of the British Empire.

" I took with me the mathematical writings in MS. of my
respected master, the late Henry Atkinson, to his brother-in-
law Mr. Biddell, master of the Naval Asylum, with whom I
dined, and returned to a Committee of the Lower House at 3
o'clock. After another long ramble I returned to my lodgings,
and had the pleasure of Mr. Davison's company in the evening.

" I was on this day informed by the Parliamentary Agent
that my continuance in town was no longer essential, for
though it might be as well to comply strictly with the Standing
Orders of the House, yet if anything required my presence in
Newcastle I could on signing certain documents be dispensed
with without any material inconvenience."

During his residence in the metropolis, Mr. Sopwith
lodged at 42, Wilmington Square, apart of London which,
although, as he said, not even then very fashionable,
was exceedingly convenient, quiet, and comfortable. The
work on which he was engaged was congenial to his
tastes; and from the circumstance that it brought him
into communion with persons of great intelligence and
influence, he looked upon the visit almost in the light
of a holiday. Moreover, it was the first taste of the
great city; and as a centre of enchantment the great city
In witched him. He was fond of Newcastle from its
local associations and the many friendships -which were
connected with it ; but had the opportunity offered itself,

1830.] NATIONAL REPOSITORY OF ARTS. 77

had it seemed to his prudent mind a good arrangement
to settle down in London, the temptation would have
been very great, and would perhaps have been followed
by a more brilliant if not more useful career.

The news of the death of his uncle, Mr. James Sop-
with, caused him to return to Newcastle. The details of
the return journey by mail coach contain little of in-
terest. He had not been long at home before he re-
ceived a message from London requiring his attendance
on a Committee at the House of Lords. He therefore
left Newcastle again by mail coach on Monday evening,
March 22nd, 1830, and read and slept all the way until
he was safely set down at the new Post Office on
Wednesday morning at 6 o'clock. He was so little
fatigued and felt so little inconvenience that he went
direct to his lodgings and from them to Spa Fields
Bath, took a bath, breakfasted, and proceeded to the
House of Lords, passing some time very pleasantly on
his way at the National Repository of Arts. Here he
found for the first time introduced some patent globes
which would go into the pocket when collapsed, but
inflated with air would form fine globes, four feet in
diameter. He also found ftolff's patent self-acting pianos,
which played with brilliancy and force. Here, also, was
Chevalier Aldini's defensive dress against fire, a strong-
woollen dress, saturated with saline material and covered
with armour and shield of wire gauze. This dress Mr.
Sopwith spoke of with commendation quite late in his
life. It was, he said, so cheap, light, and portable, he
wondered all firemen were not clothed in it. It enabled
a man to go literally through fire without being burned.
Aldini, I take it, was the famous nephew of the still
more famous Galvani, from whom we obtained the word
galvanism. In this same repository there was being

78 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

exhibited at this time the piece of sculpture from
Thorwaldsen, entitled the Triumph of Alexander.

In the afternoon he attended the Committee of the
Lords in the Robing Room, after having been previously
sworn at the bar of the House. Lord Shaftesbury was in
the chair, and that meeting terminated the professional
engagements of Mr. Fenwick, another engineer, and
himself. Everything ended in the most satisfactory and
pleasant manner, after which he and his colleague went
to the Cafe Colosseum, where, according to custom, they
finished up the day by an excellent dinner. The Cafe
Colosseum, which was situated at Regent's Park, was, he
tells us, a place worthy of remembrance. It was easily
reached by the " Paddington Stage " running between
Paddington and the City. Its cuisine was admirable,
and was memorable in that it seems to have first turned
out the famous soup called mock turtle.

A neat little picture is given, in this stage of the
journey, of the magnificent entrance to the House of
Lords called the King's Entrance. During his survey
of this entrance the Duke of Wellington passed them,
plainly dressed in a blue surtout and making his way
towards the Lords. Another picture, very interesting,
is a description of a visit to Greenwich Hospital.

" On Saturday (March 27th, 1830) I went on the ' Stage '
to the City, and went solus into a number of offices, large and
small, in the Bank of England. I then went on a coach to
Greenwich, where I spent the remainder of the day.

" Everybody knows that Greenwich Hospital is one of
the finest, most magnificent, most uniform and extensive
structures of the kind in Europe. It is, in fact, a little city
of palaces, and has a little nation resident in its walls. The
painted hall is exceedingly and delightfully beautiful, and the

1830.] GREENWICH HOSPITAL. 79

chapel is one of the most elaborate, magnificent, and costly-
structures I ever beheld. A fine organ is supported by
six columns fifteen feet high, formed of one solid block of
white marble ; they cost <£600 each, — the guides lay on another
=£400 each by way of making the thing sound better, — and
Mr. Locker, who gave me this item, also assured me that the
interior of the chapel cost upwards of =£60,000, which is more
than twee the cost of All Saints' Church by £6,000 or £ 7,000.
I was truly surprised that my friend Mr. Collison, who at
Alston exclaimed, ' What, live within forty miles of Keswick
and never seen the Lakes ! ' had never yet seen the interior
either of Greenwich Chapel or Westminster Abbey. I visited
the Chapel twice, and was allowed to remain in it as long as I
chose. I spent upwards of an hour alone viewing the matchless
yet chaste and beautiful enrichments of this splendid chapel.

" I went into the dining-rooms which are below the painted
hall and chapel, and saw several hundred pensioners at dinner.
Such a feeding as this of His Majesty's ' Old game cocks,' as
they style themselves, I never yet beheld. I went into the
kitchens and saw the cooking apparatus; in the eastern one,
which is the largest, there are three immense cauldrons and a
large open fire grate.

" An old tar gave me the following particulars of this august
mess. In one great copper 5 cwt. of potatoes are boiled three-
quarters of an hour by steam every day. In another 7 cwt.
of meat is boiled every week day and 8 cwt. on Sundays — four
days mutton, three days beef; boils about an hour and a
quarter. At the grate only some 20 or 30 lbs. of meat are
roasted for such petty officers as choose roast, and in a cauldron
45 lbs. of cocoa and 42 lbs. of sugar in the morning, and in the
evening 8 lbs. of tea and 36 lbs. of sugar, are the materials for
about 180 gallons of these respective beverages.

" I wandered through a great many of the hospital wards,
and entered into conversation with some of the old veterans ;
to one I said, ' Well, these are all very good things, and you
should be very comfortable ; ' with true British modesty he

8o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1830.

replied, ' Aye, true, sir, they're all well enough, but then we
deserve it, ye see, or else we wouldn't have been here.'

" In the dining-room I copied a printed board, which I
supposed at first was some of Mr. Locker's doings, if not in
composing, at least in placing it there. But to Mr. Locker,
who in the evening copied it from my notes, it was as new as to
me; he had neither seen nor heard of it, and joined with me in
admiring its point and brevity : it was headed, —

COUNSEL AND ADVICE.

Hear \ ' To be silent.

Be silent I and \ To understand.

Understand l learn j To remember.

Remember / \ To practise.

/ see, judge \

All tbat \ bear, believe f .^

{ . ' > it not !

you 1 know, tell I

\ can do, do J

Before you speak — tbink,

and regard well

wbat you speak, where you speak, of whom you speak, and to

whom you speak.

r Religion \ / lose \

i Generosity / \ impoverish (

1 Injustice I j enrich ^

\ Wickedness / \ profit

/ Property, some ,

If yon ( Health, much | .g ^^

lose l Reason, more I

\ your Soul, all /

" I then spent nearly two hours in ranging through the
Park, amidst the venerable and richly-fretted trunks of many
large and aged trees. The day was serene, and fair, and
sunny, and nature shone in a bright and beautiful garb. After
greatly enjoying a long and circuitous walk through the
various lawns and avenues, I traversed several of the streets
of Greenwich, and then took a sail on the Thames for half an
hour, and saw the royal fabric in all its different bearings ;

1830.] CURIOSITIES IN LONDON. 81

being high water, it seemed very singular to behold so amazing
a pile so very near the surface of the river. Having sailed about
half a mile lower down, I returned, and at five o'clock dined
with Mr. Locker, with whom I spent the evening until ten
o'clock.

Some other points of sight-seeing in London in 1830
lead to a conclusion.

" On Wednesday (March 31st) Mr. Davison breakfasted
with me. I afterwards called at Mr. Pratt's, thence on to
Mr. Barber at the British Museum, thence at Boosey's music
shop in Holies Street, then on to Thomas Phillips, Esq.,
Professor of Painting, about Sir John Swmbourne's portrait,
and then at the Papier Mache Manufactory in Edgware
Road.

" I next called on Mr. Orel of Whitfield, then went through
the museum of the Zoological Gardens in Bruton Street, and
a very admirable museum it is. I next spent an hour at the
Western Bazaar, and saw Haydon's pictures of Evades and
Punch, with which I was much pleased, and also with the
sculptured figures of Tarn o' Shanter and Souter Johnnie,
which Mrs. Locker had particularly recommended to my
notice. I then visited the beautiful and extensive exhibition
of paintings, models, and sculpture at the galleries of the
Society of British Artists ; and after much too hasty an inspec-
tion of these, which well deserve a whole clay's examination,
I went to the Royal Menagerie at Charing Cross (removed from
Exeter Change), — I saw the lions and other principal animals
fed. The collection is very interesting, and the ravenous
disposition excited by hunger, in most of the animals, is truly
terrible. I returned by Fleet Street, where I purchased a
very good pantographer, and then returned straightway to
my lodgings.

" In the evening I went with Mr. Davison to Covent
Garden Theatre, and heard the sacred oratorio of ' Messiah.'
This, and Drury Lane on the first night I spent in London,

82 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1830.

were the only theatres I visited. I was much gratified with
the music, but the choruses have not full and overpowering
magnificence.

" I visited the Excise Office in Broad Street, and spent some
time at the East India House, the museum of which was
certainly among the most curious and interesting sights I saw
in London. The Eastern manuscripts in particular are highly
deserving the attention of the stranger.

" I went to see the animals in the Tower, and as a
menagerie the thing was much more confined and insignificant
than I expected. I deferred seeing the armouries and jewels
to another visit ; and having completed all my parliamentary
business, and had many opportunities of seeing the varieties of
London, I left in one of the stage-coaches at four on Saturday
afternoon, and went outside as far as Huntingdon, where we
arrived about eleven. There I got inside for the remainder of
the journey, having suffered very much from the intense cold.
The ground was covered with snow, and the following day was
very cold and cheerless. Travelling along the London and
Edinburgh road for the fourth time is a rather tiresome
operation. Once is more than sufficient to see all that is
worth seeing, with the exception of two or three places."

CHAPTEE X.

SECOND MARRIAGE. WORK AS A CIVIL ENGINEER.
EARLY TRAVELLING BY RAIL. ELECTION AS A
MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
THE ROMAN WALL.

1831-33.

iHE year 1831 becomes again eventful in a
personal point of view. On January 31st
Mr. Sopwith started for Ross in order to be
married to Miss Jane Scott of Ross, whom
he had had the good fortune to woo and win. He
travelled in a storm of excessive violence, accompanied
with a heavy fall of snow. The marriage ceremony was
performed in Belford Church, after which the married
couple started in a chaise and four for Berwick, but the
weather was so tempestuous that both were made ill by
it, and "a more deplorable wedding jaunt has seldom
perhaps occurred." They reached Berwick at last, but
could get no further for some days. They carried with
them a letter of introduction to Sir Walter Scott at
Abbotsford, but the storm prevented them getting so
far. They returned to Ross on the 12th, and thence
to Newcastle on the 17th.

On April 12th Mr. Sopwith took an active part in the
opening of the Scotswood chain bridge. On April 20th
he attended a large meeting of professional and amateur

84 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1831-33-

artists to form the Artists' Conversazione at Newcastle-
npon-Tyne, of which institution he was made President.
In August of this year he was seized with illness, and
suffered from congestion and inflammation of the lungs,
which proved extremely serious. During this year he
remarks on the public uneasiness existing in Newcastle
in regard to the Reform Bill, and records that after the
Bill had been thrown out by the House of Lords he met a
countryman who was reading an account of the rejection
from a paper edged with deep black. He also refers
to an outbreak of Asiatic cholera which took place in
Newcastle, the deaths from which were very appalling.
One death occurred next door to him, but neither
Mrs. Sopwith nor himself felt any apprehension; which
circumstance, he thinks, contributed greatly to their
escape, a view respecting contagious disease he main-
tained consistently all through his life.

On November 8th of this year he spent an evening
with Captain James Glencairn Burns, son of Robert
Burns, at the house of Mr. Dunbar. He seems to have
been much struck with Captain Bums, and greatly
pleased with his acquaintance.

At the close of his journal for this year 1831 he adds
that the year will ever hold place in his memory. He
observes : —

" The year 1831 will ever hold an honoured place in my
memory, as having added greatly to my happiness by my
union with a most esteemed and amiable girl, who has proved
a most affectionate companion, a prudent manager of house-
hold affairs, and a most tender and diligent guardian of my
dear boy. . . . The event of next moment was my illness
which for three months kept me from business and brought
me to the verge of the grave. And here let me record with
much affectionate regard the inestimable value of the constant

1 83 1 -33-] WORK AS A CIVIL ENGINEER. 85

and judicious attention of my dear wife, that if any of my
posterity should hereafter read these pages they may, if she be
living, honour and esteem her, and, if departed, may seek for
grace to follow the good example she has shown."

1832.

In January 1832 Mr. Gray, the Governor of Newcastle
gaol, and Mr. Forsyth, the Town Marshal, called on
Mr. Sopwith, to view the model of the gaol for which
he had received a premium from the Commissioners in
1822. The visit evidently gave him great happiness,
and he continued actively employed, restored completely
to his ordinary healthy state of mind and body. On
March 17th a daughter, Ursula, was added to his family.

In the spring of this year he commenced a systematic
study of isometrical perspective, and on May 21st read a
paper on this subject to the Natural History Society. This
afterwards gave origin to a well-known and valuable
treatise by him on isometrical drawing.

He was next busied in surveying a new line of road
up the Derwent, on which subject he published a short
and very practical essay, entitled " Observations to
Accompany a Map of the Vale of Derwent in the County
of Durham." The map itself is admirably drawn, and
the description is carried out with all the precision and
attention to details for which its author was so much
respected. He also wrote a review in the Newcastle
Journal of Hodgson's " History of Northumberland,"
and was engaged by the publishers of a series of views of
Fountain's Abbey to write an architectural and historical
description of that venerable ruin. For the local journals
and for " Dunbar's Catalogue" he wrote a brief biography
of one called Blind Willie, a well-known local minstrel,
who died in All Saints' poorhouse on July 20th, 1832, aged

86 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1831-33.

eighty-four or eighty-five years. Mr. Dunbar, the sculptor,
made a statue of this celebrity, and Mr. Robert Gilchrist
commemorated him in the songs of the bards of the
time. Amongst local events witnessed during the year
Mr. Sopwith dwells on the first lighting of Newcastle by
gas and a further outbreak of cholera.

In the autumn, at the request of Mr. John Clayton,
the Town Clerk of Newcastle, Mr. Sopwith undertook
the survey of a railway from Durham to Shields, being
associated in the labour with Mr. John Buddie, the
eminent engineer. They commenced the survey on
October 9th, and rapidly completed their work.

Mr. Clayton was a man after my friend's own heart.
He won the highest social reputation in business and in
local affairs generally, taking a very active part in the
development of railway enterprise; but his life was most
devoted to Newcastle, and the growth of it from a com-
paratively small to an enormous centre of iodustry was,
Mr. Sopwith thought, due to his, more than to any other
person's, individual efforts. He had also antiquarian
tastes, and was proud of his possession of the remains
of five Roman camps along the great Northumbrian wall
raised by the Roman forces. The friendship remained to
the end, but Clayton, as we have seen in a previous
chapter, long outlived his companion.

Mr. Sopwith's resume of 1832 is quite joyous in its
tone. He rejoices in excellent health, considers his
domestic happiness perfect, and lays special stress on the
advantage he has obtained in making the friendship of
his colleague, Mr. John Buddie.

1833.

In the new year of 1833 he made the acquaintance of
an accomplished and excellent man, Mr. Surtees, and on

1831-33-] EARLY TRAVELLING BY RAIL. 87

January 3rd, that being his thirtieth birthday, Mr. Buddie
called upon him with an official letter from Mr. Milne,
of the Woods and Forests, relating to a proposed survey
of the mines in Dean Forest, a duty which he accepted.
He left Newcastle on the evening of February 10th,
arrived at Boroughbridge at six the next morning, took
postchaise to York, proceeded next day to Leeds, thence
to Sheffield, Birmingham, Worcester, and Gloucester,
and so to the Forest of Dean, which was reached on the
13th. On the 18th, in his pit dress, he went with his
assistants to the Hopewell Colliery in Dart Hill to make
his inspection ; but some opposition being offered to the
survey by a local magnate, his assistants had to return
home, and he, writing to Mr. Buddie for further in-
structions, took the opportunity of staying a day or two
at Bristol and Bath on his way to town, where he arrived
on the 22nd, and on the 26th had an interview with Lord
Duncannon at the Office of Woods respecting the Forest
affairs. On the 27th he looked in at Chancery Lane to
see Lord Brougham. On March 4th he viewed the
Thames Tunnel, then the great engineering feat of the
day, and on the 7th commenced his journey home by
way of Manchester, Liverpool, and back by way of Leeds
to Newcastle. This journey was purposely a deviation
from the direct route in order to visit the Manchester
and Liverpool Railway. On Friday the 8th, he visited
the magnificent scenery of Matlock in Derbyshire,
and arrived at Manchester in the evening. Next day
at seven he went on the Railway to Liverpool. He
minuted the quarter-mile posts and found them as fol-
lows : 56", 50", 38", 41", 54", 65", the whole journey
of thirty miles scarcely occupying tivo hours. He
returned to Manchester in the evening and went to
the theatre. The following morning he left for Leeds,

88 THOMAS SOPTVITH, F.R.S. [1831-33.

dined there, and proceeding by night coach homewards
reached Newcastle on the 12th.

He was occupied in Newcastle until May 4th, on the
evening of which day his workshops were burned down,
with a loss of about seven hundred pounds. Fortunately
for himself he was insured, and fortunately for his
employes a subscription was raised for them through
the benevolent and active exertions of the Rev. Robert
Green. A day or two later he was called to London,
as a witness before the Committee of the House of
Commons on the Derwent Road Bill.

The diary of May 7th contains the following entry : —

" On this evening I was elected a member of the Institution
of Civil Engineers, an honour which I chiefly owe to the
voluntary offer and subsequent proposition of the celebrated
Mr. Telford, the President of the Institution."

On May 11th he visited the Royal Academy, and on
the 12th went to hear the Bishop of Hereford, Dr. Grey,
preach in Bow Church. On the 14th he attended the
Institution of Civil Engineers for the first time; on the
15th went to Richmond by steamboat; and on the 19th
spent the day at Windsor and visited the Castle— the
ballroom of which he considered the noblest apartment
he had ever seen. The tapestry he thought " inimitably
beautiful." At eleven he went to the Chapel Royal with
his friend Mr. Collinson, where they were seated nearly
opposite to their Majesties, whom he thus quaintly
describes : —

" We saw them as they walked out of chapel arm in arm.
The King (then William IV.) is stout and fresh-looking, but
walks rather lamely ; he was dressed as a plain country gentle-
man, and his coat was somewhat shabby in appearance, its

1831-33-] THE ROMAN WALL. 89

newness having long departed. The Queen (Adelaide) was
plainly dressed in a green hat and white feather, blue sleeves
and white gown, without any jewels. The choir performed
' Lift up your heads,' from Handel's ' Messiah.'

> »

On the 20th he was sworn at the Bar of the House of
Lords as a witness, and on the 22nd he left Blackwall
at ten in the City of Edinburgh steam packet, in which,
after a pleasant voyage in calm weather, he arrived safely
at Newcastle.

In July he visited Edinburgh, renewing the acquaint-
ance of Dr. Boswell Reid and Professor Pillans. Of his
journey there and back he made many notes, antiquarian,
professional, and social, one of which, relating to the
Roman Station at Housesteads and the Roman Wall,
must be introduced.

" I left the coach at Bardon Mill at twelve, and had a
pleasant walk to the beautiful and sequestered cottage of my
respected friend the Rev. Anthony Hedley, where I dined, and
at two o'clock rode to the Roman Station at Housesteads ; here
I found the Rev. John Hodgson, the Rev. A. Hedley, Mr.
Turner, Jim., of Blagdon, and Mr. John Hodgson superintend-
ing an antiquarian research in the foundations of the eastern
gate of the Station, from which six or seven labourers were
employed in removing the soil and loose stones.

" Two worn paths were laid bare, but no remarkable remains
of the former occupants had been discovered.

" The Rev. Mr. Hodgson then accompanied me on a view of
the Wall from Housesteads westward to Craglough, and as
this was the first time I had ever made an exploratory visit to
this most singular relic of Roman warfare, it was truly gratify-
ing to have so able and intelligent a guide as the author of the
' History of Northumberland,' whose intimate acquaintance with
the localities and extensive knowledge of antiquarian subjects
added the greatest interest to the feelings of surprise and

go THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1831-33.

admiration excited by a view of the Wall and adjacent
cliffs.

" We first viewed the station, which Mr. H. minutely de-
scribed, and then ascended to the summit of Housestead Crags.
The Roman Wall here stretches along almost on the very edge
of precipitous cliffs formed of fine basaltic columns, and winds a
tortuous and often very steep course up and down the steep
sides of a succession of prominences called the ' Devil's Teeth.'
It is impossible not to be impressed with the strongest admira-
tion at the fine grey columns which form so stupendous a
foundation for the Roman barrier, which, however magnificent
as a work of art, sinks into insignificance beside the proud
basaltic wall which forms the north side of the ridge. I made
a sketch of a fine square column of basalt, which, like a stately
tower of a vast castle, rises on the face of the cliff a little west
of Housesteads, showing a distant view of the winding course
of the Wall over Sewingshields Crags. The prospect from the
summit of Housesteads and neighbouring crags is very ex-
tensive ; to the east and south the lands contiguous to the Vale
of Tyne have a rich and diversified aspect.

" The southern horizon presents the commencement of the
high lands bordering on the Pennine Chain. The stately Castle
of Langley, the romantic banks at Staward, and numerous
other interesting places may be distinctly seen, the view
extending over Whitfield and Allendale to Alston Moor, and
bounded on the south-west by Cross Fell mountain. The west
view chiefly comprises a succession of lofty basaltic ridges, on
which the course of the Wall may be distinctly traced ; and
on the north the eye rests on one vast and broad unbroken
extent of desolate moors, the waving lines of which grow
more and more dreary as they recede, until lost in the horizon
formed by the Cheviot Ridge; a few loughs, or lakes, and a
solitary cottage or two being almost the only objects which
appear scattered over this wide and solitary domain. This
district, I was informed by Mr. Hodgson, was the Forest of
Lough, or Lowes, whence the latter family name had its origin.

1831-33O THE ROMAN WALL. 91

" We next slid down the steep escarpment of the cliff to
the plain below, where I made a drawing of the face of the
basaltic scars, on finishing which we pursued our ramble
along the Wall on the top of the Cliffs.

" This interesting relic of antiquity is here in surprising
preservation, being in height from four to five feet above the
surface, and showing the entire breadth, which is about seven
feet. It is built of a white and close-grained freestone (brought
from quarries about half a mile down the hill on the south side),
in regular courses on the outside, but filled with whin and
grouting within; the cement contains many small pieces of
limestone, and is extremely hard. The military way of the
Romans is very observable lower down on the south side, and
still further down, adjoining the turnpike, are the Agger and
ditch of Hadrian ; I made a sketch showing a long unbroken
line of the Wall, with singular offsets in it of about nine
inches. On proceeding further west I was suddenly struck
with admiration on beholding the romantic appearance of
Crag Lough, and the bold perpendicular face of basalt whence
the name is derived, and which rises from its southern
shore.

"At Holbank farmhouse (the property of John Clayton,
Esq.) I had a drink of Gilsland Spa water, and on arriving at
the summit of the Crags I selected one of the most prominent
points of view, and sketched one of the magnificent series of
columnar blocks of basalt which form the northern side of the
Crag.

" No description can convey an adequate idea of the grand
and imposing effect of the view from the edge of these cliffs.
The rippled surface of Lough Craglough was studded with
broad leaves of the yellow water lily, and a gabled mansion,
lately built for a shooting box by Sir Edward Blackett, is here
added to the few objects which appear on the broad moors of
the Forest of Lough.

" Nearly opposite Holbank farmhouse are the very observ-
able remains of one of the Castra, or forts, which were built

92 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1831-33.

at intervals between the stations, and another of these forts
occurs in a hollow immediately west of Craglough. They vary
in size, hut the two which are here alluded to are about eighty
feet in extent and nearly of a square form.

" The upper surface of the Wall is covered with a fine soft
bed of grass, in which lady's-bedstraw, sheep's-scabious, and
wild thyme plentifully abound. I made a sketch of Craglough
and adjacent scenery while sitting on this comfortable place of
rest, on the Wall immediately behind Bradley. After walking
down the lough, we examined a portion of the Wall which is
built in horizontal courses, and not, like many steep parts of
the Wall, inclining with the surface of the ground. In a section
of the wTall where the courses are level, the manner of building
exhibits more care, the inner work being arranged in layers
corresponding with the outer course.

" From Craglough a fine range of basaltic cliffs extends
westward."

The description of the Roman Station is followed by
that of a modern cottage belonging to his friend Mr.
Hedley, and affords not only a contrast of an historical
kind, but a good illustration of Mr. Sopwith's powers as
a natural and picturesque writer.

" Chester holme is the name given by Mr. Hedley to a
spot of ground about an acre in extent, a flat or ' holme '
immediately beneath the Roman station of Little Chester
(Vindolana), around which the ground rises steeply on every
side, excepting the narrow outlet of a small and most romantic
rivulet which runs down a steep channel of limestone rock. The
hill side on the south of the holme is steeper than the rest ;
the lower part was planted twelve or fourteen years ago, and
the higher portion of it is a broad and lofty fell of considerable
height, from the summit of which is an extremely beautiful
and interesting prospect.

" The cottage which adorns this romantic and sequestered

1 83 1 -33-] SOME NEW SURVEYS. 93

little valley was erected about three years ago by Mr. Hedley,
from a design given by Mr. Green, sen., architect. It is
built with steep gables, with large boards and ornamented
chimneys. Some parts of the walls are built with stones
brought from the station whicb crowns the rising ground
opposite. The grounds are laid out with exquisite taste, and
the whole scene is more like tbe beautiful creation of a poetical
mind in visions of Fairyland than ;i rustic dwelling in a northern
clime, and in a wild and moorland country. A profusion of
loses, sheddiDg their fragrant odours around the walls they so
richly adorn, add the last and highest finish of romantic love-
liness and beauty, which, to be fully appreciated, must be seen.
Still more attractive is the character of its amiable inmate,
whose widely-known and acknowledged worth have procured
him the admiration of all who know him ; and it reflects but
little honour on the zeal and integrity of the political party he
has so long and ably supported, that in the day of prosperity
promises, unasked and unlooked-for, have been his only
reward.

"The interior of the cottage is fitted up with butternut,
a Canadian wood, which resembles oak, but is much cheaper.
The library is both extensive and select, and the views from it
are romantic and beautiful. In front is a rustic porch, under
which are several Roman altars and other antiquities found in
the adjoining station."

Towards the close of July Mr. Sopwith commenced
a survey of the Durham Junction Railway at Pensher
and of a bridge over the river Wear ; and, in August, he
went to work in earnest with his treatise on isometrical
drawing. In September he records with much regret the
death of his friend Mr. Surtees. In the latter part of
the same month he began the survey of the Blaydon and
Hebburn Railway.

Towards the end of October of this year he received

94 THOMAS SOPTVITH, F.R.S. [1831-33.

a letter from the Office of Woods referring to Dean
Forest and inquiring when he could resume his survey.
The latter part of the year was fixed upon, and he
left Newcastle on December 12th, taking with him, as
assistants, George Johnson, William Smith, and N. Sey-
mour. They arrived at their destination on December 1 5th,
and the following day proceeded with the mineral survey
of the Forest of Dean, commencing with Hopewell Colliery
in Dart Hill, in which they surveyed all night on the
Wednesday and Thursday preceding Christmas Day.
Christmas Day was spent with Mr. Davis at Lydney.
Then work went on again until, —

"after continuing the subterraneous survey, and making
various plans and sections on Monday and Tuesday, another
year at the close of the latter day was completed, and gave
x-ise to many reflections connected with the progress of time,
with the events of past years, and anticipations of years
to come."

CHAPTER XI.

SUR VEYS IN DEAN FOREST. TIIO UGHTS ON ELECTORAL
METHODS FOR PARLIAMENT. PROFESSOR JOIIN
PHILLIPS.

1834.

GREAT accumulation of business came to Mr.
Sopwitli in the beginning of the year 1834.
Of one hundred and fifty-one hours occupied
in January in passing from Newcastle to
Coleford in the Forest of Dean, — where his three assistants
were still engaged, — and to other places, sixty-four were
passed in travelling, eighty-two in resting or detention,
and five only on the special business of his expeditions.
In six consecutive days he was in Newcastle; for three
hours he was at Harrogate ; nineteen at Leeds ; seventeen
at Burnley; two at Manchester; five at Liverpool; seven
at Coleford; twelve at Gloucester ; one at Bristol ; three
at Bath; eight at Salisbury; two at Poole; and three at
Swanage. Considering that this was a man who never
loitered in business, the record tells us strikingly what
time was lost in travelling before the railway system
came fully into operation.

In February he made a special visit to the Forest of
Dean, for the purpose of continuing his labours there,
proceeding on February 12th from Newcastle to Harro-
gate, in order to meet the Bishop of Durham, to gain his
ssent to some concessions concerning the Blaydon aud

96 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1834.

Hebburn line. The interview was fixed for nine in the
morning, but such an interview "as he shall never forget."
The Bishop assented to the railway passing through his
lands between Blaydon and Hebburn, but throughout
was irritable up to actual rudeness and unkindness.
Never in any similar application had Mr. Sopwith ex-
perienced anything at all approaching to the harshness
and " uncourteousness " which 011 this occasion caused
him surprise, but not uneasiness. The manner in which
my friend bore this infliction is best told in his own
words, recorded in his journal almost immediately after
the interview. His words breathe a spirit of inde-
pendence combined with a gentleness it would be difficult
to find surpassed.

" He had not heard of the death of Mr. Surtees, and there
was a melancholy interest in being the first to communicate
the loss of the historian of Durham to the Bishop of the
diocese. His lordship had no ground of objection to the
railway, nor any fault to find, otherwise than a most unreason-
able and unbusinesslike displeasure at my bothering him with
railways and such like, of which ' he knew no more than a
child.' He pushed the plan away from him, but I informed
him that the law of the land required me to state upon oath
the fact of his having seen it, and he then cast a hasty glance
or two over it. It fortunately happened that my duty was
plain and simple, and I steadily adhered to a respectful and
courteous behaviour, undisturbed by a treatment which I was
conscious of not having merited ; and I left with feelings of
perfect astonishment and regret that a shepherd could set so
poor an example to one of the hum blest of his flock.

" The Bishop of Durham has the general reputation of being
a man of great literary and scholastic attainments, and many
describe him as a good and charitable man. The deportment
alluded to above, doubtless, must have in a great measure, if

!834.] ELECTIONEERING AT LEEDS. 97

not altogether, arisen from nervous irritability caused by illness,
but its marked and peculiar character was such as will ever
associate very strange ideas with the name of bishop in my
ears."

From Harrogate he passed to Leeds, where he found
electioneering in full swing, and where he was compelled
to stay all night.

" The town was perfectly mad electioneering, and I saw an
immense procession of the Blue party (Sir John Beckett's).
This is the second time the boon of Reform has given the in-
habitants of Leeds the fancied advantages and practical evils
of a popular election. No one can be more anxious than
myself that electioneering and every other privilege of English-
men should be placed upon such a foundation as may best
promote the welfare of the state ; and the measure of Reform
conceded by the present administration to the wishes of the
people of England was doubtless intended to effect a better
mode of election and a better transaction of public business in
Parliament. The great simplicity of the Reform poll is justly
admired and approved by all parties, but the general purity of
election and the proceedings of the House do not yet present
the decided improvement which was hoped for by the friends

of Reform.

"The gross waste of time, the breach of regular industry,
the cessation of business, the notorious existence of the most
depraved and dependent party spirit, the noise, confusion, and
drunkenness which prevailed in Leeds on this occasion, is a most
deplorable contrast to what an election would be if ever the
people of England shall by the blessing of God become wise
and enlightened.

" In occupying a leisure hour before bed-time ' in mine inn '
with the writing of these brief memoranda, let it not be
supposed by any one whose eye may glance over them that I
either profess to study or care about politics. I have known

7

98 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1834.

many excellent men of all parties, and in confiding any interest
or property of my own to the care of any one, I would look out
for an honest and respectable man, on whose general good
feeling and integrity I could confide, and select him as a
proper person to be the guardian either of my private or
public interests.

" To the ranks of either Whig or Tory I have no desire to
attach myself, and in my humble station my only desire is to
be at all times a sincere and hearty lover of my country. If
I were to venture at imitating the example of the great mass
of His Majesty's lieges by commencing business as a statesman,
I would so far meet the popular cry as to adopt for my motto
Annual Parliaments, Universal Suffrage, and Election by
Ballot, but then it would be by a very different mode of opera-
tion to what is now practised. My plan would simply be to
have good, strong, capacious chests placed in the Town Hall of
every county town or borough, or other place of election, and
on a given day in each year every individual in the kingdom
man, woman, and child, should have full liberty to vote as
often as they chose, by putting money in the box appropriated
to their respective candidates.

" This genuine test of their favour, however unreasonable it
may at first appear, would be as rational a mode of expressing
public opinion as any other. The extensive contribution of
the great mass of the middle and lower classes would insure
a proper influence from the populace, and the large sums of
noblemen and capitalists would give to property its just in-
fluence in what so greatly concerns the welfare of the country.
The money thus collected I would apply to the payment of
public rates, taxes, etc., in the respective districts, and thus
the disagreeable task of tax-paying would become a means of
expressing political sentiments, and an annual contribution of
this sort would doubtless raise no trifling sum throughout the
kingdom. Bribery and tax-gathering would thus be almost or
entirely abolished. A candidate might vote for himself with a
thousand pounds, and give his friends as many ten or fifty

1 834.] ELECTORAL METHODS. 99

pound notes as he thought proper ; all would go to a good
cause, would relieve the public burdens, and in this as in all
other matters it would doubtless be found that the best
member would fetch the highest price.

" It is clearly inconsistent that the vote of a man who employs
fifty thousand pounds in business should weigh no more than
the vote of one who has little or no interest in the permanent
welfare of the country. The mere number of votes is manifestly
no criterion of fitness. Moral worth and integrity ought to
stamp a weight on votes far exceeding the vote of a thought-
less or profligate person, but this in society is impracticable ;
neither is the Member of Parliament so much the representative
of mind as of property, of private worth as of public interests.

" By the plan I propose the successful candidate would either
represent a very extensive and strong feeling of the many, or
the vast and important interests of moneyed men and great
landowners, but most probably the heaviest box would often
be formed by the united contributions of these two classes of
society. By way of a finish to my scheme it would be no
bad plan to bestow on the successful candidate a moderate
percentage of the contents of his own box ; this would induce
candidates to be more free in the honest bribery of their
friends, woidd relieve them of much expense, and would
encourage men of plain good sense and moderate fortune to
aspire to that station which they are most eminently qualified
to fill. Every voter would enjoy all the secrecy of balloting,
for his contributions should be known to himself only, and
the poor but honest tradesman might safely promise every
candidate a vote."

A day or two later on I find my friend offering some
new reflections on railway travelling in 1834.

" I left Burnley next morning in the mail, and slept nearly all
the way to Manchester, which town we found enveloped in the
brown and greeny darkness of a London fog. I breakfasted

ioo THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1834.

at the Palace Inn, and went to Liverpool on the railway. In
this journey nothing particular occurred different to what I
had seen before, but three things forced themselves much on
my attention : —

" (1) A worse engine than last year.

" (2) More jolting on rails than ditto.

" (3) The vast local improvements along the line.

" Each of these ' unfold a tale,' but I have not time to
detail further than by remarking that the enormous expense of
good engines and keeping the railway in perfect repair seems
indicated by their being both suffered to deteriorate, and if
such be the case with this railway very few places in the
kingdom can afford speed on railways. Horse or engine
travelling of ten or twelve miles an hour is probably the most
economical speed, and is sufficiently quick for most purposes ;
but the march of intellect will never rest satisfied with this,
and they are now scheming a velocity of forty miles an hour.
The immense traffic between Liverpool and Manchester fur-
nishes funds for all manner of experiment and improvement,
but other poorer concerns must beware ere they attempt to
follow the example."

From Liverpool Mr. Sopwith proceeded across the
Mersey in the mail steam packet, and then went by mail
through Chester (where he was much amused with the
singular style of building) to Shrewsbury, Hereford, and
Monmouth. From the latter town, which he reached at
nine on Sunday morning, February 16th, 1834, he went,
after breakfast, in a phaeton to Coleford, and greatly
admired the romantic scenery of the banks of the Wye.

At Coleford he found his three assistants ready for
church, and after dressing he accompanied them. In the
afternoon he looked over the plans done during his absence
in the north, and found them, as well as the progress
of the survey, highly satisfactory.

1834] SWANAGE, WAREHAM, DORCHESTER. 101

At five on Sunday evening- he drove in a phaeton to
Gloucester, and next morning rose at six and had a
delightful walk to see the Cathedral. The beauties of
the exterior of this fine structure were almost new to him.
The morning sun gilded the fine crisp edges of the minute
architectural enrichments of the tower, and presented
them in a very favourable aspect.

At nine he went in a coach to Bristol, and from there
to Bath, where he saw Sir Thomas Clavering, and had a
walk in the Pump Room and in Great Pulteney Street,
and then dined at York House. At seven he left in the
mail, and after a very comfortable journey arrived at
Salisbury or New Sarum at midnight.

On Tuesday morning, February 18th, having had a
look at the Cathedral, he went in a coach to Poole, and
after dinner sailed in a packet for Swanage. Poole he
describes as an active, bustling little port, having one
of the finest quays in England. The harbour is very
spacious, and if its entrance were as safe as its interior is
capacious it would be one of the finest in England. A
sail of two hours in a packet brought him to Swanage.

The hotel at Swanage is a very spacious and hand-
some structure, the property of Mr. Pitt. He stayed
here until the following morning, and left at eleven in
a gig for Wareham to meet the coach for Dorchester.

From Wareham he had a pleasant ride on a coach to
Dorchester, whereas, finding that no coach proceeded to
Bristol until Friday morning, and that from Weymouth,
he resolved to spend Thursday in seeing Weymouth and
the neighbouring Isle of Portland.

At Dorchester he found very comfortable quarters at
the King's Arms Inn, and at ten next morning went on
a coach to Weymouth, passing the extensive Roman
station called Maidon Castle. The bay and adjoining

102 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1834.

walk or " esplanade " at Weymouth were extremely
beautiful, and the long range of well-built houses had
a noble appearance, but he was disappointed by their
being built of brick instead of stone, as he expected they
would be, from the vicinity of Portland Island.

The day being delightfully pleasant, he walked to
Sandsfoot Castle, and thence to a ferry which took him
across to Chesil Bank, a beach of eighteen miles in
length, composed entirely of small rounded pebbles ; it
was formerly from eleven to thirteen feet higher, and
narrower, but was spread wider by a tremendous gale in
November 1825, when several houses were destroyed in
Chesil and many lives lost.

He walked to Chesil, and made an exploratory journey
round the island, visiting the quarries and Rufus Castle.
Near the south point or " Bill " of Portland he found
a modern castellated mansion, once the residence of
William Penn, son of the celebrated William Penn ;
and in front of it, on the steep and rugged declivities
facing the British Channel, the remains of a church
with several monumental stones.

From this date onwards up to the end of May Mr.
Sopwith remained engaged on the Dean Forest survey,
but making meanwhile several visits to London, and
thoroughly enjoying all that passed before him. In
London he listens to Paganini at the Adelphi Theatre,
is delighted with the elder Mathews and his monologue,
makes the acquaintance of Dr. Birkbeck, and in the early
part of June returns home to Newcastle, after an absence
of four months, to find another daughter added to his
family. He now continued to work on the treatise on
isometrical drawing, and on September loth brought
it before the world. The object of the work was to
offer a general view of the nature and advantages of

1834.] PROFESSOR JOHN PHILLIPS. 103

mineral plans and surveys, the construction of geological
maps, and regular series of working plans and sections
of mines. It also gave familiar explanations con-
cerning plans of mines, roads, and estates, and at the
same time supplied the libraries of gentlemen with a
book of reference and information on several details
of plans and sections of which no popular description
had yet been supplied. The mode of drawing suggested
enabled the reader to apply the method to representa-
tions of gardens and pleasure grounds, so that not only
a correct plan of the various flower beds and walks could
be shown, but also the height and pictorial appearance
of trees, shrubs, greenhouses, and the like. The use of
isometrical rulers would, he thought, be found an agree-
able occupation to amateurs as well as artists, and
especially to ladies, who would combine the beauties of
landscape, architecture, and flower-painting with correct
and useful delineations of pleasure grounds, houses, and
gardens.

The book met with marked success, and it is somewhat
a matter of surprise that it has not to this day retained
its place as an educational work.

The remaining portion of the year 1834 was spent
by Mr. Sop with chiefly in railway surveys, in some of
which he was associated with ' other engineers. On
November 14th he made the acquaintance of Professor
John Phillips, an acquaintanceship which ripened into a
friendship lasting through a long series of years, and in
which it was my own good fortune, in some measure,
to take part. Professor Phillips and Mr. Sopwith were
admirably fitted for friendship. Their tastes were
congenial and their pursuits similar. Sopwith's love
for geology lighted up in him immense admiration
for Phillips' special and classical knowledge on that

io4 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1834.

subject ; and Phillips' appreciation of Sopwith's breadth
of knowledge on all subjects was often warmly expressed.
They were both fond also of quiet humour, and were
not afraid to indulge in a little fun on their own
peculiarities.

Throughout all his career Mr. Sopwith's love for
geological science was unabated. The study seemed to
come to him naturally, although, according to his own
view, it resulted from his practical work in the mines.
" But all miners are not geologists," I remember hearing-
said to him by one of our clerical friends, the Rev. J. B.
Reade ; "and you, I believe, are the only one I ever
met." " That may be," responded Sop with ; " but miners
are by occupation in the bowels of the earth, and the
bowels of the earth are the galleries of the geologist.
Perhaps they are too much occupied with their own
pursuits to observe the natural history around them."
" Yes," continued our jocular cleric, " and see what such
men lose. Just think, Doctor, what Jonah might have
told us about digestion if he had only looked out when
he was in the belly of the whale." " You are too hard
on Jonah," said the medicus addressed, " for he had no
light, not even a safety-lamp." " That's one for Jonah,"
added Sopwith, with his merry laugh ; " and the doctor
has beaten the parson on his own ground."

CHAPTER XII.

ENGINEERING EXPERIENCES. NEWCASTLE AS A
RAILWAY CENTRE.

1835-36.

jN 1835 we may consider Mr. Sopwith a
thoroughly established man in Newcastle-
npon-Tyne. He was engaged in many lines
of occupation. He carried on still the business
of his father ; he was actively employed in surveying ;
lie took a lively interest in local affairs, and continued to
educate himself more and more in subjects scientific and
practical.

On March 25th he was called to London, and travelled
by the Wellington coach. In his notes on this journey
he records the curious fact that he was in the company
of fifteen convicts, and that, notwithstanding the singular
companionship, he had a perfectly comfortable journey.
It was a new chapter to him in the history of human life,
and opened up many curious reflections.

His business to London in this visit was to give further
railway evidence before the House of Commons, but he
found time to go to the museum of Sir John Soane in
Lincoln's Inn Fields, and to make the acquaintance of the
eccentric founder of that institution, through the introduc-
tion of Mr. Britton, the architect and well-known writer
on architecture. Returning to Newcastle at the close of

106 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1835-36.

March, he became very unwell from rheumatism, and
continued ill all through April and May. On May 30th
he was compelled to go to London, although he had to
be lifted into the coach, but managed the journey pretty
well, being accompanied by his " dear Jane." On June 4th
he was examined before the House of Lords Committee,
but had to be seated while giving evidence. On June 14th
lie got back to Newcastle, and soon afterwards went to
Berwick, where under the influence of baths and pure
country air he recovered, and in July and August visited
the Trossachs and many places of historical interest in
Scotland.

On September 13th he came again to London, this
time in the Highflyer coach. He started at half-past
nine a.m., and reached London at eight p.m. on the
following day. From London he went to Dean Forest,
and from there to Gloucester. On September 21st he
commenced levelling the Forest of Dean, that is to say,
taking levels for sections, for which purpose he planned
a new levelling instrument, which saved much time and
ensured great accuracy as compared with instruments then
in use. The survey lasted till the early part of October.

Towards the close of this year Mr. Sopwith was
proposed and nominated as a Councillor for the west
ward of Newcastle. He was not elected ; many of his
friends declining to vote, from a conviction that either
the duties of the Council would interfere with his pro-
fessional work, or that the continued attention to his
professional duties would interfere with those of an
official kind. In returning thanks to the gentlemen
who supported him he acknowledged the justice of the
defeat. He had abstained, he said, from asking even
a single vote, and would always follow the same plan,
though he would be ready to serve if elected.

1835-36] ENGINEERING EXPERIENCES. 107

1836.

In the early part of 1836 Mr. Sopwith was engaged
largely in travel, or, as he calls it, " in excnrsions to
obtain assents," that is to say, to submit railway plans
to owners and occupiers of lands and houses near to which
intended lines of railway had to pass. At this particular
period in our national history the railway interest was
the all-absorbing topic, and opinions respecting every new
line proposed to be laid down were divided in the sharpest
manner. The old fashions, and what may be called the
Conservative instincts of the people, were against the
innovation, and a host of objections having relation to
ownerships of properties, privileges, and businesses stood
in the way of any such radical change as that of a
railway. In some instances the majority of a large
town would rise, and without foreseeing the future, blind
in fact to its own future interest, would protest against
the innovation in the most determined manner, and some-
times with success. Mr. Sopwith's excursions, therefore,
to obtain " assents " proved, he tells us, " an interesting
occupation, leading to introduction to a great number of
persons of every rank, from the peer with his wide
domains to the humblest cottager or occupier." In this
way his time was spent in the north of England until
February 7th, when a longer excursion was requisite on
the same business. He left Newcastle on the evening
of the 7th in the mail coach, and visited York, Tadcaster,
Leeds, and Manchester. From Manchester he went to
Northampton, from there to Cambridge, and from (Jam-
bridge to London, where he remained until February 21st,
when he left in the Highflyer coach, and reached New-
castle in thirty-five hours. The coach fare was £4 4.9. ;
the guard's and driver's dinners, £1 85. 6r/.; the entire

108 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1836.

cost of the journey £5 12s. 6d. In March we find him
at Harrogate examining the geological conditions relating
to the sulphur wells, and in the same month he con-
tributes a paper to the Mining Review on "Civil and
Mining Engineering."

Work connected with the Great Northern line of railway
now occupied a great portion of his time, and he was
soon summoned to London again to appear before the
Parliamentary Committee. On May the 2nd he gave
very strong evidence on the manifest intention of the
" erroneous section " to deceive the Committee. For this
he received much but ineffectual abuse from opposing
counsel, whose case, however, broke down, to the great
chagrin of the opponents of the line. From London he
travelled to Bristol, thence to Chepstow, Catford, and
Dean Forest, then to Gloucester and Cheltenham, return-
ing (on May 10th) to London, where he dined with Mr.
Fisher, the well-known publisher, and afterwards went
to the Institution of Civil Engineers to hear Mr. John
Martin, the great painter, explain his plans for improving
the river Thames. With the suggestions made by Martin
he was very greatly impressed, and I have heard him say
that the whole plan indicated an advance of the most
remarkable order, — an anticipation, indeed, of the improve-
ment that has been made in what is now called the
Thames Embankment, and including other projects not
less important, and still unfulfilled. After returning for
a short time to Newcastle, he was called back to London
in the early part of June, and was detained until the 20th,
when he proceeded on business for the Great North of
England Railway, leaving by the Halifax mail and going
to Leicester, Manchester, and Wigan.

On July 13th, at seven in the evening, having hired a
commodious travelling carriage, Mr. Sopwith, accompanied

1836.] NEWCASTLE AS A RAILWAY CENTRE. 109

by Mr. Buddie, Mr. George Johnson, and Mr. Nicholas
Wood, proceeded to Sedburgh, Lancaster, and Wigan.
They posted all night, travelled all day on the 14th, dined
at Preston, and reached Wigan at nine at night. The
occasion of this journey was to view the locus hi quo
of an important reference case, Clayton v. Gregson, in
which about £32,000 depended on the construction to be
put on the single word " level," in a lease of the coal
under the property. On the 16th they went to Liverpool,
where on the 19th the matter was arranged by the
payment of £8,500.

On August 10th he attended a meeting of the Great
North of England directors at Darlington, and in Sep-
tember he was surveying the boundaries of Sir Edward
Blackett's manorial properties near Haydon Bridge.

In addition to other work carried on this year he pre-
pared a plan of a proposed arrangement by Mr. Grainger
for concentrating the terminal lines of the Newcastle and
Carlisle, the Great North of England, and the projected
Edinburgh railways. Newcastle was to be the centre for
this combination. He concluded this year at his offices
in the Arcade, Newcastle, where he had been chiefly
occupied during the year, except when taking one of the
journeys to which reference has been made. The year,
he tells us, "was one of great activity, and, at times, of
extreme exertion, both bodily and mentally ; " but his
health was good, his spirits lively, and he rejoiced greatly
in the comforts of home and the plenitude of many
blessings from the Giver of all good.

CHAPTEE XIII.

A MEMORABLE DINNER. COUNT ST. ALDEGONDE.
RUSSIA AS A MINING FIELD. CHOICE BOOKS.
ARTISTS AND SCIENTISTS. THE QUEEN AT GUILD-
HALL.

1837.

>N January 1837 Mr. Sop with, accompanied
by Mr. Buddie, proceeded to Edinburgh on
railway business, and in February he was
called southward on engineering work con-
nected with the proposed line from London to Brighton,
where he arrived on the 22nd, returning on the 23rd,
by Epsom, to London, and so again by the Highflyer
back to Newcastle. In March he attended a trial at York
on the " Harrogate Well Case." The case was heard on
March 14th. Amongst the witnesses were the famous
Dr. John Dalton, the " father of chemistry," as he has
been called, and the discoverer of the atomic theory;
Dr. William Smith, the well-known and admitted "father
of English geology ; " Professor Daniell, the inventor of
the Daniell battery; Professor John Phillips; Mr. John
Buddie ; Professor Johnstone, the chemist ; Mr. John
Johnstone of Edinburgh, connected under Government
patronage with Elkington's system of drainage; Dr. Clanny
of Sunderland ; and Mr. West, a chemist at Leeds, with
others. West is noticed as being a Quaker who prided
himself on having no name or title of any scientific
distinction. When asked for his designation to be written

1837.] A MEMORABLE DINNER. in

down on an affidavit, he replied, "William West, Chemist,
Leeds ; lives in an alley and is nobody." But some years
afterwards, when he became a Fellow of the Royal Society,
he changed his tone and was always F.R.S. On March
13th, in a consultation with Mr. Creswell, — afterwards
the well-known judge,— Mr. Sopwith described the geo-
logical details by means of a model, and induced Mr.
Creswell to recommend an arrangement on the following
morning, when the trial came on at York before Judge
Alderson.

On the following day, March 14th, the scientific wit-
nesses dined together, — a memorable dinner, which Mr.
Sopwith reports as follows : —

" The addresses made after dinner by Dalton and Smith were
in the highest degree interesting. It was indeed an event of
no ordinary occurrence that two men so highly distinguished
as original observers should be induced to favour the company
as they did with very curious details relating to them respective
connection with the advancement of chemistry and geology.
Their healths were proposed separately. The company was
sufficiently numerous and of a scientific character enough to
justify a little formality in this ceremony, and in the addresses of
thanks which followed the respective speakers both seemed to
consider the parties present as friends to whom they could speak
with freedom as well as with a degree of formality. Hence, the
recital which they each gave of their discoveries was listened to
with great attention and respect. I was particularly pleased
with the hearty, open, and very friendly communications of
Dr. Smith, and gladly took such opportunities as occurred from
time to time to enjoy his society, and to derive benefit from his
useful and instructive observations, which, with a liberality often
found in the greatest minds, he was always most ready to
communicate to others."

A curious and interesting conversation is reported by

ii2 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1837.

Mr. Sopwith at this period of his life between himself
and the Russian Count St. Aldegonde. The narrative
is best told in his own words.

" I received instructions from the solicitors of the South
Eastern Brighton Railway to be in attendance on the Com-
mittee on April 6th, and made arrangements accordingly. Pre-
vious to my departure I received fresh instructions which
admitted of my remaining at home until the 8th ; of this I
would gladly have availed myself, but my brief visit to home
was again shortened by a message from the Great North
of England Railway Company, which required me to be in
London on April 8th. I therefore secured an inside seat
in the Wellington coach for Friday morning, April 7th.

" While I was engaged in my office on Thursday, the day
previous to my departure, Mr. Morton, of Lambton, the agent
of the Earl of Durham, called and wished me to accompany
him to the George Inn, to be introduced to the Count St.
Aldegonde, a Russian nobleman, who had brought letters from
Lords Londonderry and Durham. I could ill spare time in
tins the eleventh hour of a hurried visit at home, but Mr.
Morton was so anxious for me to go, that I was induced to
do so, and was forthwith introduced to the ' Count de St.
Aldegonde.'

" On our way to the inn Mr. Morton informed me that
his visitor was a General in the Russian service, intimately
acquainted and on terms of personal friendship with the
Emperor, and much interested in scientific researches. I de-
voted three hours to visiting several places with him, and
found much pleasure in doing so, inasmuch as his manners
were in the highest degree pleasing, and his numerous and
intellectual observations were instructive and entertaining.

" He expressed a wish to see some iron and glass works,
the manufacture of locomotive steam engines, and the re-
fining of lead, and especiaUy Mr. Pattinson's recent discovery.
I sent a note to Mr. Pattinson, who called at my office while

1837] C0UN1 ALDEGONDE. 113

we were out ; he left a specification of his patent, which I
gave to the Count, and made an arrangement to wait upon him
the following Saturday. After showing this Russian General
various plans and sections at my office, and among others the
isometrical plan in Mr. Buddie's office, with which he was
particularly pleased, we walked to Mr. Grainger's new market.
This he greatly admired, and pronounced it far superior to
anything of the kind he had ever seen, either on the Continent
or in England. I took him to the office, where Mr. Wardle
showed him several plans, elevations, and models of the new
streets, and gave him copies of some of them, which the Count
said he would show to the Russian Emperor, who would, he
was sure, be delighted with them.*

" I next took the Count to the Literary and Philosophical
Institution, and showed him the Law and Medical Libraries,
the Lecture and Apparatus Rooms, the General Library,
Reading and Committee Rooms, the Natural History Museum,
Geological and Antiquarian Rooms, and the Gallery of Roman
Altars, with which he was much pleased. I introduced him to
Mr. Hutton and Mr. Fryer, and in the course of conversation
an arrangement for the interchange of minerals, etc., was
suggested, as a probable means of obtaining for the museum
a valuable accession of Russian and Siberian geological
specimens.

" From some incidental remarks it appears that the Count
has a private collection of minerals of considerable value.
He was particularly interested in viewing the sections of
coal strata presented to the Institution by Mr. Buddie, and

* It may here be observed that the Emperor of Russia inspected
Newcastle in December 1816, and several of the principal manu-
factories. He also visited Wallsend, where Mr. Buddie explained to
him the nature and extent of the colliery operations. The intention of
the party was to descend a pit, and an aide-de-camp was sent down the
day before to make the necessary arrangements as to dresses, etc. Some
matters of etiquette, however, and a sight of the pit, proved obstacles
to this subterranean expedition.

8

ii4 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1837.

also with the model of coal workings, by means of which I
explained to him the mode of ventilation introduced by Mr.
Buddie. He expressed a great wish to meet this eminent
miner, of whom he had heard so much, both in England and
abroad.

" I then walked with him to Hawthorn's Steam Engine Manu-
factory, and left him with Mr. Wm, Hawthorn to view these
extensive works. On returning to the office, I sent George
Shadforth, who accompanied the General to Cookson's Glass
Works, and conducted him back to the George Inn, where I
called upon him and bade him adieu.

" We had a long conversation on mineral surveys, and I gave
him copies of some mining sections. It is contemplated to
make some extensive surveys of this description in the south
of Russia, with the view of establishing coal works."

This suggestion about a mineral survey in Russia was
but a hopeful one for that great country. We once
had a casual conversation on this subject d propos to
a short essay of mine on the food resources of Russia,
published in the Journal of Public Health for December
1855. This essay dealt with the food resources of the
Empire, exclusive of Poland and Finland, in 1849 — that
is to say, shortly before the great war between France
and England against Russia. At that time the surface
of the Empire embraced 1,675,492,948 acres of land,
rather more than one-fifth part of which was under
cultivation. About 24,000,000 acres were private do-
mains ; 218,387,516 were devoted exclusively to arable
purposes ; 107,971,138 were pasture land ; 393,277,413
were covered with forest wood ; and 932,052,138 were
waste. Deducting the waste and forest lands from the
whole, there were left 350,163,397 acres of cultivated
soil ; which on a uniform rate of distribution to popula-
tion would have given a proportion of more than six

i837-] CHOICE BOOKS. 115

acres and a half to each one of the 53,000,000 of the
then existing inhabitants. From these resources it was
inferred that the produce of the Empire was sufficient
to supply all the people with those elements of food
which are really essential to life ; bnt there the produce
finished, for beyond the production of food very little
indeed was done with the soil. Mr. Sopwith's view was
that in snch vast tracts of country the most precious
mineral wealth must needs abound, especially in the
southern districts, and he thought that the whole question
of advancement of the peasants lay in making them
miners on their own soil rather than in Siberia. He
would have rejoiced to have been the first British
mining engineer in Southern Russia.

A reference to his library and to a list of books to be
sent to the binder leads to some notes in the diary of
April 1837 bearing upon the books which most attracted
the attention and the taste of my friend. He is warm in
his admiration of the works of Bishop Berkeley, whom
he names among his " chiefest favourites." " The clear
and chaste composition, the admirable metaphysical tact,
the philanthropic sentiment, the genuine piety and the
abundance of deep and interesting philosophical and
literary research, which prevailed in the writings of this
highly gifted, prelate, entitle his volumes to an honour-
able place in every library. His singular ideas and
acute reasoning upon materialism are as entertaining as
they are instructive, and if the force of his arguments
fails to convince, it at least affords a clear insight into
many of the most beautiful phenomena of nature, and
eloquently teaches how narrow a range is permitted to
the human understanding when it attempts to fathom
the deepest mysteries of the universe."

Another favourite writer was Sterne. Putting aside

n6 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1837.

the quaint absurdities of this writer, which are neverthe-
less often attractive, Mr. Sopwith found much in him
that was also useful. He speaks sensibly of the sermons
of Sterne, sermons eloquent and forcible, which he
expects in this day are well-nigh forgotten altogether.
Gilpin's " Forest Scenery " is spoken of as an admirable
exposition, with graphic descriptions and well-executed
engravings of forest trees. He does not estimate
Gilpin one jot too highly, for his work in its way
has never been surpassed, and is as readable as it was
in the day it was published. Gregory's " Mathematics "
seems to have afforded him much instruction, and Zimmer-
mann's " sweetly written " book on Solitude runs side by
side with the " Vicar of Wakefield."

A work called the " Curious Book " comes in for warm
praise. It is " well named ; " it contains a rare and well-
collected assemblage of anecdotes in various departments
of history, biography, and science. Washington Irving's
tales afford him great delight, they are so accurate in re-
gard to minuteness of detail, and his pictures of English
manners present graphically every circumstance of sound
and sight to the very ears and eyes of the reader.
Phillips' " Geology of Yorkshire " he regards as the best
work on social geology that had appeared at the time
named, and McDiarmid's "Sketcher" is a book he valued,
not only for its intrinsic worth, but also from the fact that
he had spent an evening with its author in Dumfries, had
heard that author speak of his intimate friend Robert
Burns, and had drunk out of a goblet which had been
for many years the property of the Scottish bard.

I may state in this place that the taste which Mr.
Sopwith displayed in these early days for literature
continued until the end of his life. He was always
an industrious reader, slow in reading, but grasping

i837-] THE WELLINGTON COACH 117

thoroughly every detail of matter and point of style.
He continued always to gain delight from the works of
Washington Irving, and when Dickens, Thackeray, Lytton,
Kingsley, Macaulay, Dixon, Froude, and other writers
whose works engrossed the mind of the nation came
on the field, he followed them with equal avidity, com-
mitting their best parts almost to memory. He had a
keen sense of the humorous, and sometimes succeeded,
if I may so say, in making new humour out of old, that
is to say, of giving humour to the imaginary persons of
the author beyond what the author himself conceived.

In the diary for April 7th of this year (1837), there
is an account of another journey to London, by the old
passenger coach, which account, as it gives the modern
reader a perfect picture of what travelling was in the imme-
diate pre-Victorian era, had better be given in its entirety.

" On Friday morning April 7th, 1837, I left Newcastle in
the Wellington coach to visit London for the fourth time this
year. The morning was cold, and snow showers fell on this
and the following day. I had the good fortune to have for
a fellow-passenger Thomas Fenwick, Esq., of Dipton, an able
and experienced coal-miner, agent for the Bishop of Durham
and the Dean and Chapter's Collieries, and author of a very
ingenious treatise on Subterranean Surveying. His great
vivacity and extensive range of information and anecdote
tended much to beguile what might otherwise have seemed a
long and tedious day. As regards travelling, however, custom
has made it in me a property of easiness, and I now think
nothing of the journey between Newcastle and London, which
once appeared a very serious undertaking. I have learnt to
read, to write, and to sleep well in a coach, and in addition
to these have usually the good fortune to find some intelligent
and conversable fellow-passenger. In this respect I have been
more than usually fortunate this year, having in stage-coach

n8

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

[1837-

journeys become acquainted with Cipriani Potter, the President
of the Royal Academy of Music, and with the Rev. William
Vernon Harcourt, a son of the Archbishop of York, as well
as other agreeable and interesting persons, ladies as well as
gentlemen ; and the acquaintance, though brief, was in every
instance highly agreeable, and seasonable as a relief from the
fatigues of a long journey. My companions on this journey
were Mr. Fenwick, Mr. Richardson, solicitor of York, and
my clerk. The Wellington coach is well conducted, and
travels nine miles an hour, including all stoppages except for
meals ; it leaves Newcastle at half -past nine. The passengers
have half an hour for dinner at Northallerton about two
o'clock, and the same time for tea at York at seven, break-
fast at Grantham a little after six, and dinner at Harrington
about two ; it reaches the Bull and Mouth at half -past
seven, being in all thirty-four hours. The Mail (the rival
coach) is thirty-three hours going up, and twenty-nine hours
coming down. The fare in the Mail is £5 up and five guineas
down. In the Wellington the fare is £i 10s. The other ex-
penses by the Wellington are as follows, but subject of course
to very considerable variation according to the liberality,
economy, or it may be parsimony, of passengers : —

&

s.

d.

Dinner at Northallerton .

. 0

3

0

Driver at ,, . .

. 0

1

6

. 0

2

6

Tea at „ ...

. 0

2

3

Brandy at Tadcaster
Driver at Ferry Bridge .
Driver at Newark .

. 0
. 0
. 0

1
1
1

3

G
6

Breakfast at Grantham .

. 0

2

3

Driver at Huntingdon .

Dinner and brandy at Harrington

Guard at London .

. 0
. 0
. 0

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,837-] TBE FATHER OF GEOLOGY. n$

This journey to London was again on railway business,
and examination before the parliamentary Committee,
with evidence in favour of the London and Brighton
Railway. The evidence is remarkable as showing what
difficulties were thrown in the way of a line from
London to London-super-Mare. Mr. Wood, who after-
wards became Sir William Page Wood and finally Lord
Hatherley, was the cross-examining counsel, and treated
the witness with unusual severity; but the witness was
a tough one, who never made a statement he was not
prepared to substantiate, and who came off in triumph as
the result. He stated his opinion of the line from an
engineering point of view, and as affording peculiar
facilities of intercourse, not only between London and
Brighton, but also between London, Newhaven, and
Lewes; also between these several towns and Brighton,
Dover, and the central districts of the county of Kent,
During this visit to London there is an account of an
evening spent at Mr. Newton's in company with the
"father of geology," Dr. William Smith. Blue cloth
cloaks were now all the fashion, and as the weather was
cold, Mr. Sopwith wrapped up the " father " in his own
blue cloak, " taking good care, however, to get it again
before we parted." At Mr. Newton's the geological
father became very entertaining. He wrote his name in
an album with some curious specimens of inverted writing.
He was proud of this caligraphy, and observed that a
person has no more right to alter the form of letters in
writing than he has to alter the current coin of the
realm.

To carry out all the instructions he had received, Mr.
Sopwith again went to Brighton, and took up his residence
there for a short time, making surveys of the different
points where the line would have to pass, and where

t2o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1837.

stations would have to be erected, as at Lewes, East-
bourne, Newhaven, and Hastings. In the survey con-
ducted by himself and his friends and his coadjutors,
they found several fossil branches in the green sand
under the chalk. At Lewes they came upon extensive
chalk quarries, and learnt some very curious particulars
from a workman there who had sustained a terrible
bereavement. In the previous winter there had been a
great fall of snow, which, accumulating above the chalk
cliff, had come down like an avalanche, killing the wife
of this man, the mother of eleven children, and doing an
immense deal of mischief. The scene of this avalanche
is still pointed out to visitors.

A note dated April 18th, 1837, gives a graphic account
of an express post journey from Brighton to London. It
runs as follows : —

" We pursued our inquiries and observations, and at twenty
minutes before 4 p.m. we passed St. Peter's Church on our
way to London, and reached Westminster Bridge at 10 past
8, being just 4| hours for 52 miles, including stoppages. Mr.
Anderson reached town in time for a consultation, and I sat
up till two writing my reports, and making drawings, etc., to
illustrate the case.

" As our journey was altogether one of minute observation,
and as the time of travelling forms an element, we were desirous,
both on this account and also in order to prepare notes for
counsel, to expedite our return as much as possible. The
details were as follows : —

" We passed St. Peter's Church at Brighton at 3.40 p.m.
and reached Hickstead at 4.34, being 12 miles in 54 minutes
(change occupied 5 minutes). From Hickstead at 4.39 to
Crawley 5.28, being 10 miles in 49 minutes (change 4 minutes).
From Crawley at 5.32 to Bed Hill at 6.14, being 9 miles in
42 minutes (change 5 minutes). Left Bed Hill at 6.19 to

1837O OLE BULL'S CONCERT.

Croydon at 7.17, being 11 miles in 58 minutes (change 5
minutes). From Croydon at 7.22 to Westminster Bridge at 8.10,
being 10 miles in 48 minutes. The following is a Sum muni.

12 miles 5-1 minutes = 13 j an hour

10 „ 49 „ = 12i „
9 „ 42 „ = 12| „

11 „ 58 ., = 11| „
10 „ 48 „ = 12i n

" The expense was £5 17s. 6d.

" The above may be considered as the maximum speed which
can be obtained on post roads without previous and special
arrangements."

The return to Newcastle was on April 24th, soon after
which Mr. Sopwith was busily occupied in planning a
Town Hall for the town of Thirsk. In May he was in
London once more on parliamentary business, enjoying,
as a bit of his recreative break from Committee work,
a concert by Ole Bull.

"Friday, May \§th, 1837. — Joseph Scott breakfasted with
me at Wood's Hotel. I called at Manchester Buildings, and
was sworn at the Bar of the House of Lords on the Great
North of England Standing Orders Committee. In the even-
ing I went to Ole Bull's concert at the great concert-room,
King's Theatre. This proved a very great musical treat, and
I was delighted to have an opportunity of hearing a violinist
of whose extraordinary powers I had heard so often. The
vocal performers were Madame Pasta and Mdlles. Blasis and
Ostergarcle, Misses Cooper and Bruce, and Signors Rubini,
Tamburini, Giubelei, and Lablache. Among the instrumental
performers were M. Franchomne, first violoncellist to the King
of the French ; Master Taylor, a young harpist aged nine years ;
Signor Liverani ; and M. Rosenhaim, who performed on the
pianoforte with Ole Bull ; and a numerous orchestra led by
Sir George Smart.

122 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1837.

"The concert began with the magnificent overture to Der
Freischiitz, which had a very fine effect. A variety of pieces
followed, all of which afforded me great pleasure, and especially
the playing of Ole Bull, which, to my imperfect judgment of
music, seemed more wonderful than Paganini's performances,
and I was glad on a subsequent occasion to find this opinion
confirmed by the experienced judgment of Mr. Buddie. The
song of songs of the evening was by Miss Cooper, ' She never
told her Love.' It was exquisitely sweet and appropriate ;
sung in a subdued and solemn tone, it partook of that
' refreshing melancholy ' which Anthony A. Wood speaks of.
It was true to nature, and both composer and singer seemed
in my humble estimation to do justice to the immortal bard
who penned the brief but most expressive and inimitable
words of the song. As the song proceeded it seemed to con-
jure up to the view the striking and highly poetical incidents
of a secret love, — a pining in thought, a fading of the damask
cheek, and of a fair saint of heavenly patience 'smiling at
grief,' a fair flower withering in the shadow of death.

" This song was followed by another favourite piece of music
played by Master Taylor on the harp ; this was ' Kathleen
O'More,' and it was played with great sweetness and simplicity.
I was truly delighted with its wild and plaintive melody ;
although unaccompanied by the voice, its notes seemed to tell
a plain and sad tale so true to nature as in my estimation to
rank among the most expressive pieces of national melody.

" Mr. Bull was prevented by illness (that was the plea), or
by a thin attendance, from playing his Polacco Guerriera : but
I soon after heard him play it at Cipriani Potter's concert."

In another entry we have accounts of two other per-
formances in which celebrated characters of the past
played their parts.

" Friday, June 2nd, 1837. — Went to Manchester Buildings,
and took a walk with my cousin, Thomas Sop with, to see the
House of Commons, Westminster Hall, etc. I caUed and saw

1837.] THE SCHOOL OF MIXES. 123

Mr. Provis, and, after taking an early and very plain dinner
at Gregory's Hotel, I went to Cipriani Potter's concert at
Hanover Square rooms at two o'clock.

" This concert was very numerously attended by a fashion-
able audience. Madame Pasta sang twice. Mr. Kr6ff sang
' Der Wanderer ' with great feeling and expression. Miss
Clara Novello sang ' From Mighty Kings,' a piece which re-
quires great skill in modulation, and I admired her performance
of it very much. Mr. Ole Bull played his Polacco Guerriera,
a most extraordinary performance, which Mr. Buddie, who is
a good judge of violin-playing, thought superior in execution
and in 'honest fiddle-playing ' to the much-talked-of performance
of the celebrated Paganini. Dragonetti Lindley and various
other eminent instrumental performers were present, and Mr.
Potter played some concerns with great clearness and skilful
execution. An original overture composed by him was also
performed and very favourably received.

" In the evening Mr. Donkin gave Mr. Buddie, myself, and
Charles a treat to Covent Garden, where we heard Pasta and
De Begnis, and saw Macready perform Wolseyin Henry VIII.
"\\ ith this I was altogether disappointed, inasmuch as 1 think
he entirely failed in exhibiting either the pictorial or moral
portrait of that celebrated priest and statesman. Liston played
in the farce. He has taken leave of the stage at his usual
place of acting (the Olympic), and it is said that he will only
once more appear on the London boards. To the provincial
stage he long ago bade adieu."

Nothing of special moment occurs in the diary until
June 8th, when two events of importance come before us:
one a visit to the famous Dr. Buckland— father of the late
Frank Buckland— at Oxford; and a second, the projection
of a School oi Mines, arising, as it seems, out of that
visit. Mr. Sopwith and Mr. Buddie were at Oxford, on
railway business, when both received invitations to break-
fast from Dr. Buckland. As they were short of time

i24 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1837.

the}7 were unable to accept the invitation, but they called
before the breakfast as related below.

" Dr. Buckland's house is one of those venerable fabrics which
form the principal quadrangle of Christ's College. As soon as the
old-fashioned door is opened abundant evidence is presented that
the residence is that of a zealous disciple of geology. A wide
and spacious staircase has its floors, and even part of steps,
covered with ammonites, fossil trees, and bones, and various
other geological fragments, and in the several apartments piles
upon piles of books and papers are spread upon tables, chairs,
sofas, bookstands, and no small portion on the floor itself. In
the drawing-room I found a young lady of ruddy, cheerful
aspect, and of unassuming and agreeable manners. Dr. Locke,
Professor of Chemistry in Cincinnati, was present, and explained
a very ingenious apparatus named in the doctor's note, on
which the action of heat is so moderate that the approach
of the hand or the touch of a finger induces a magnetic move-
ment of a 12-inch needle. Dr. Locke also described a mode of
measuring vertical angles by ascertaining the degrees covered
by his hand, or by one or more fingers when held at arm's
length.

" I saw the large painting from which the engraving of Dr.
Buckland has been taken. In the breakfast-room Dr. Buckland
introduced me to Mrs. Buckland and to Dr. Davies Gilbert,
and shortly after to Mr. Edward Bigge, who joined the party.
Dr. Buckland said that he had been applied to to recommend
some one as a proper person to undertake the office of Mining
Commissioner on the part of the Free Miners. ' I told them,'
said the Doctor, ' that they must have nothing short of New-
castle, and I named Mr. Buddie and yourself.' I sat next to
Dr. Gilbert, and had with him and Dr. Buckland a conversation
on the subject of a School of Mines. Dr. Gilbert said that great
advantages had been derived from the Institution of a Poly-
technic School in Cornwall, of which he has been an active
promoter. I assured Dr. Buckland that Mr. Buddie and

i8370

MR. REINAGLE. 125

myself felt highly gratified and obliged by his present of the
« Bridgewater Treatise on Geology;' to which he replied that
he felt more indebted for information he had received from
us. Before leaving, he made me write a minute to the effect
that Mr. Buddie and I should dine with him at the Geological
Club in London on the following Wednesday.

"At ten I left Oxford on the Blenheim coach, which was filled
with young Oxonians. The road by Wycombe and Uxbridge and
its beautiful scenery was new tojne, and I enjoyed it very much."

Friday, June 9th, 1837, records rather an amusing
incident.

" This morning our usual breakfast party of Mr. Donkin,
Mr. Buddie, and myself was enriched with the addition of Mr.
Beinagle, an eminent artist and Royal Academician, who had
come the preceding evening to Mr. Buddie, bearing a letter
from Lord Ravensworth. Mr. Reinagle astonished us not a
little by declaring that he had found a simple and infallible mode
of at once doubling the profits of the northern coal owners, but
our faith in this consummation was somewhat lessened as the
worthy artist, with great clearness and simplicity, disclosed the
data on which his scheme was based. The first and principal
assumption was, that the coal owners sell two tons for one, (an
idea formed, I suppose, from the different values of 25 and 53 cwt.
in the London and Newcastle chaldron). When Mr. Reinagle
was made to understand that a ton at Newcastle was 20 cwt. as
well as at London, it seemed in some degree to shake his scheme,
but, like a genuine romancer, he found in other wild and
visionary imaginations a refuge from this trifling misconception.
The conversation at length merged into an extravagant satire
on various projected improvements, and Mr. Buddie with his
usual facility and caustic humour devised some Munchhausendike
plans which bore very hardly on the extravagant conceptions of
our well-meaning but visionary artist, who took all in perfect
good humour, and subsequently forwarded to Mr. Buddie bis
plans for the Company."

126 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1837.

A visit to the Royal Academy at the National Gallery
on June 13th, 1837, forms a pleasant episode in the diary.
In this exhibition Chantrey's statue of Dr. Dalton and
Ramsay's portrait of Earl Grey are much commended,
but the rooms are stamped as very unsatisfactory. They
were too much like common dwelling-rooms, whereas, by
means of large doors and archways, a continued gallery
might have been formed. The sculpture room was
most objectionable, the busts and statues being jumbled
together as if intended to be packed for wholesale exporta-
tion, instead of tastefully arranged in separate groups on
appropriate pedestals.

On June 14th the geological dinner with Dr. Buckland
came off at the Geological Club; Whewell, the President,
being in the chair. After dinner Mr. Sopwith and
Buckland walked together arm-in-arm to the Society's
rooms in Somerset House, Buckland, as was his wont,
carrying his umbrella and a blue bag. Thereupon comes
a story about this bag. Sopwith wishes to relieve the
Professor of it, which, after a time, is permitted, and then
the story.

" The greatest honour," said the Doctor, " which my
bag ever had was when Lord Grenville insisted on carry-
ing it ; and the greatest disgrace it ever had was when
I called on Sir Humphry Davy three or four times one
day and always found him out. At last Sir H. D. asked
his servant, ' Has Dr. Buckland not called to-day ? ' ' No,
sir; there has been nobody here to-day but a man with a
bag, who has been here three or four times, and I always
told him you were out.' "

In the retrospect of the year 1837 Mr. Sopwith recalls
many other pleasing passages beyond those referred to
in the last two chapters. He was in London during some
parts of eight months in the year, and found his frecment

1837O MRS. SOMERVILLE. 127

journeyings opening up many new scenes and personal
introductions. He sat for his portrait to Mr. James
J lam say, went to the bottom of the river Thames in
a diving bell, and was much gratified in making the
personal acquaintance of Cipriani Potter. He devised
various plans for the improvement of Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, and spent a few hours a day, now and then, in the
contrivance of a writing table with a flat top which would
contain fifteen drawers, two closets, and three spaces for
books and papers, all of which could be opened by one
key. This effort ultimately led to the construction of
one of the most ingenious literary cabinets ever invented.
He many times showed me this remarkable piece of
furniture, which seemed almost automatically to put
before you everything you wanted at a moment's notice ;
and the more he experienced the great saving of time
effected by this contrivance the more he became con-
vinced of its value for professional and official purposes.

A very interesting geological survey about Newcastle
carried out by himself and Dr. William Smith in con-
nection with the new lines of railway then springing up
occupies a good space in the journal, and introduces us
to Sir William Jackson Hooker, the eminent Professor of
Botany in the University of Glasgow.

But the most interesting event of a personal kind was
his accidental introduction to the famous Mrs. Somer-
ville. He had come to London after a long excursion
in Dean Forest, and on his way back to the north met
this distinguished lady.

"I left town in the Edinburgh mail at 8 o'clock. An
elderly, stout gentleman, a lady, and a young gentleman, were
my companions.

" Thursday, Sept. 14th, 1837. — After leaving Grantham I
discovered that the elder gentleman was well acquainted with

128 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1837.

the leading scientific men of the day. From having seen the
name ' Dr. Somerville' on the luggage the preceding night,
from the occasional use of the word ' Mary,' and finally from
a striking resemblance to the bust I had so often admired
at Chantrey's, I conjectured that the lady was no other
than the far-famed Mary Somerville, the authoress of ' The
Mechanism of the Heavens,' ' Connection of the Physical
Sciences,' etc. I took an opportunity of making the inquiry,
and my conjecture proved to be correct ; he said the bust was
considered one of Chantrey's best efforts, an opinion in which I
quite agreed with him. Dr. S. said that when Mrs. Somerville
was very young she overheard her brother's tutor teaching
him Euclid's Elements • she was so pleased with it that she
pursued it unknown to the family, and soon mastered the
' Elements ' and imbibed a taste for mathematical knowledge.
While she thus outstripped both her brother and his tutor, she
paid a due regard to domestic duties, and through life she has
never been led to deviate from that plain and unpretending
line of conduct which best beseems the feminine character.

" Mrs. Somerville received a handsome present from the
Emperor of Russia, and while the bearer of it was waiting
for a receipt, another gentleman called to ask permission to
name after her a large vessel then being built at Liverpool
intended for the China trade, offering to be at any expense
for a portrait or bust to ornament the head of the vessel
with a correct likeness. Permission was readily granted by t
Mrs. Somerville, who prized far more highly being thus
identified with the commerce of the country than the gift
of the Russian autocrat. Some time after, a chest of tea
arrived as a present to Mrs. S. from the owner of the ship,
and directed to her per the Mary Somerville.

" Nothing can be more plain and unassuming than the
manner and conversation of this highly-gifted lady ; the
bust by Chantrey is a striking resemblance of the general
expression of her features, but the smoothness of a marble
surface, and its having probably been done a few years ago,

1837.] THE QUEEN AT GUILDHALL. 129

causes it to have the appearance of a younger and more
beautiful countenance than that of Mrs. Somerville, the
interest of which chiefly consists in an agreeable, complacent,
and highly-intellectual expression.

"Friday, Sept. 15th, 1837.— Dr. and Mrs. Somerville
arrived at Newcastle at six this evening, and accepted my
invitation to partake of such hospitality as I could offer. I
was truly glad to entertain as a guest so distinguished an
ornament of English literature as Mary Somerville, a name
which is destined to occupy a high and honoured place in the
annals of science. Mrs. Somerville expressed herself very
highly pleased with my writing cabinet; she also expressed
great admiration at the application of isometrical drawing to
geology and mining, and was much pleased with the isograph
and projecting ruler."

Another entry is also very interesting. It is dated
from London on Thursday, November 9th, 1837.

" This was a very momentous day in the metropolis of the
world, the young Sovereign having accepted the invitation of
the citizens to dine in Guildhall on Lord Mayor's Day. Public
expectation was roused to a pitch of enthusiasm which can
scarcely be conceived without having witnessed its extraordinary
results. The greater part of the business of London might be
considered as being suspended. About a quarter of a million is
said to have been expended on the banquet and illuminations
in the City, and there is little doubt that at least another fifty
or sixty thousand pounds was expended in illuminations in
Westminster.

"A great part of the money was spent in extra wages on the
urgency of the demand for workmen, and this may be considered
as being therefore very improvidently spent, leading, it is to be
feared, to intemperance and excess.

"A still larger part of these large sums went to enrich the oil
merchants and gas companies, and nearly the whole may be
considered as expended in such a manner as to leave no sub-

9

i3 o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1837.

stantial tokens behind ; no memorial of the vast labour and
exertion which had been bestowed on the brief pageant of a
procession, and a splendid dinner enjoyed by comparatively few
persons. The gratification of seeing and welcoming a Sovereign
might be enjoyed without this enormous machinery and waste
of time and money; the pleasure of seeing a fine procession and
beholding the blazing refulgence of illuminations is surely not
worth so large a price.

" I am far from denying that the procession was interesting. I
admit that both the appearance and the sentiment conveyed by
the illuminations were highly pleasing, but this pleasure, I con-
sider, was more than counterbalanced by the concomitant circum-
stances. Among these maybe briefly mentioned that danger and
even death were known to be almost inevitable ; that the peace
and security of the metropolis was more or less hazarded by such
extraordinary occasions of public excitement; that the person of
the Sovereign was exposed to the possibility of danger, and that
the presence of an armed force was deemed necessary as a means
of protection. Now what pleasures or what advantages are
derived from a royal visit that can be put in comparison with
these great public dangers, this temporary destruction of social
order, this enormous, unmeaning waste of money? If the
Sovereign of the kingdom condescends to be entertained by the
citizens of London, would it not be infinitely better in taste, in
propriety, and in moral influence that the entertainment should
rather be based on the substantial comforts of citizenship, than
on a rival display of the splendours of a Court ? Suppose that
every person who desired to honour his Sovereign subscribed in
money one-half or one-third of what was spent in lamps, in loss
of business, in idleness, in exposure for hours to the raw and
miserable air of a foggy November day, to the risk of health
and life : a very large amount would have been available for the
erection of some great public work, the endowment of a school
or hospital, and the construction of an architectural building
for the purpose which in letters of gold should record the event
of Her Majesty's welcome to the City of London. The list of

1837.] THE ROYAL PROCESSION. 131

these subscribers I would have printed in legible characters,
describing their several professions and trades, and this list I
would have preserved in the palace of the Sovereign, in the
public courts and assembly rooms, etc., throughout the king-
dom, and widely and gratuitously distributed. These would be
trophies worthy of an enlightened Sovereign, and productive of
benefits to the various parties who might thus exhibit their
loyalty. Another demonstration of joy, and a delightful
subject for public observation, would be to give dinners to the
poor in large numbers.

" These views are not Utopian speculations on what might be
done ; they are merely applications of what has already been
done in my native town. In 1809 the inhabitants of Newcastle,
instead of wasting their money and creating idleness, danger,
and confusion in the streets by an illumination, gave public
dinners to the poor ; and never will I forget the delightful scene.
They subscribed also sufficient funds to erect a handsome school
on the Doric Portico. Their sentiments, and the fruit of that
good work, yet flourish by imparting sound and valuable
blessings to the poor children of the district.

" I walked to Temple Bar, and along the Strand to the Office
of Woods ; this was closed, and Cockney-land was all ' agog.'
However, I found Mr. Gardiner in his office; but for every kind
of business I found it a ' dies non.'

" I procured a seat in a first-floor window in Cockspur Street,
where I saw the procession pass ; I had a good view of the
several personages in their respective carriages, and especially of
the Duchess of Kent, the Duke of Sussex, and the Queen. I
afterwards walked from Temple Bar eastwards to the Bank
through the illuminations. In the evening I went with Mr.
Davison in a van to see the West End illuminations. The
crowd was truly astonishing, and as to carriages, cabs,
omnibuses, carts, drays, and vans, the streets were actually
one solid and often immovable mass."

Two more entries in this year deserve notice.

i32 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [i8;

" Sunday, November 19th, 1837. — Attended service at the
Chapel Royal, St. James's, and afterwards called and sat an hour
with Dr. Somerville and his daughters. I had an opportunity
of seeing Mrs. Somerville's paintings by daylight, and I admired
them very much. I spent the evening with Mr. Milne, at his
house in Whitehall Place.

" Monday, Nov. 20th, 1837. — In the morning I prepared a
preamble for the Dean Forest Bill. At eleven a Mr. Coram
called ; he has taken out a patent for converting small coal into
aggregated masses. At twelve I went to Mr. Ker's, where I
met Mr. Gardiner, and after an hour's consultation I went to
Whitehall and saw Mr. Milne. In Parliament Street I saw
Queen Victoria go in state to open her first Parliament ; I saw
the procession to great advantage both in going and returning.
I had an excellent view of Her Majesty, who appeared to be
in splendid spirits. On returning I saw crowds of people
running towards and loudly cheering a gentleman on horse-
back. This I immediately supposed must be the Duke of
Wellington; my conjecture proved right, and he soon after
rode close past. I joined in a most hearty cheer for the hero
of Waterloo."

CHAPTEK XIV.

NEW FRIENDS, NEW THOUGHTS, NEW SCENES.
1838.

>OME time in 1837 Mr. Sopwith made the
acquaintance of that remarkable man Robert
Owen, whose attempts to establish a theo-
retical and practical system of social reform
are particularly important in this day, when socialistic
tendencies are becoming so popular. Owen had had a kind
of chapel in Burton Street, and Mr. Sopwith passing it
had been rather astonished to find that the chapel had
changed both its name and its character. On inquiry he
found that Mr. Owen had moved the establishment to
Great Queen Street, and on asking what was the present
occupation of the place, was told politely that it was now
a chapel of the Swedenborgians or New Jerusalemites, so
that Mr. Owen's enthusiastic plans seemed to be march-
ing backwards, and his millennium of truth, reason, and
equality as far distant as ever.

The first entry of moment in the diary of 1838 has
reference to Mr. Owen, who was at Newcastle.

"April 25th, 1838.— Spent the evening at Mr. H. L.
Pattinson's. Mr. Owen, Mr. George Burnett, Mr. Lee, and
Mr. Carrick were present, and we had a long and interesting

i34 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1838.

conversation on Mr. Owen's benevolent and sanguine but
theoretical prospects of the improvement of society.

" April 26th. — Mr. Owen and I walked to Mr. Donkin's,
where we breakfasted. Mr. D. expressed himself highly
delighted with the schools and discipline of New Lanark when
he visited them some years ago, and Mr. Owen detailed several
very interesting particulars of his interviews with Prince
Metternich and other European diplomatists.

" Mr. Owen is very communicative, and is willing to answer
any questions, which he always does with a distinct reference
to his particular views. His notions of classifications of society,
although based in some measure on the results of his own
practical experience at New Lanark, and comprising many
very enlightened and benevolent arrangements, are yet so very
Utopian that it is difficult to attribute his sanguine anticipa-
tions to any other cause than monomania or a delusion on that
particular subject. Eveu those parts of his plans which may
be considered practicable as improvements in the general habits
and constitution of society, will, in my humble opinion, require
the lapse of ages to be accomplished, — I would say two thousand
years at least ; and this opinion I have always urged on Mr.
Oweu. In contemplating a change so great as he imagines
will take place, I cannot but think that it affords as strong
an evidence of delusion as can possibly exist in a cultivated
and intelligent mind, which, in an eminent degree, Mr. Owen
possesses. His opinions on religion are such as the generality
of persons would consider it a duty not oidy to disapprove, but
to condemn in the strongest and most unqualified terms. My
intercourse with a varied circle of society has, however, taught
me to be very cautious in forming extreme opinions on specu-
lative subjects. Claiming, as a Protestant, the right of free
opinion, I consider it a duty to tolerate the same in others ;
religion is a matter between God and man, and all history and
observation point out the unhappy results which have flowed
from the interference of men with the religious opinions of
their fellow-creatures. Mr. Owen is very open and unreserved

1838.] NEWCA STLE AND CARLISLE RAIL WA Y. 135

in expressing his opinions on religious topics, but I cannot say
that they present a pleasing prospect."

A considerable number of minor events carry us on
until June 18th, when one of considerable, and we may
almost say national, importance was presented, namely,
the opening of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway from
Blaydon to Carlisle, a distance of sixty miles. The whole
of the engines belonging to the company were put into
requisition, and a vast number of trucks fitted up with
temporary seats were provided for the public accommoda-
tion. The procession of trains was intended to start from
Redheugh at 11 in the morning, but after various delays,
and a considerable stoppage at Blaydon, a final start was
made at 1.50 in the afternoon. Carlisle was reached at
5.30, sixty miles being accomplished in three hours and
twenty minutes.

The description of the arrival in Carlisle and of the
departure back again is recorded in the next entry, dated
June 18th, 1838.

"Immediately on being liberated from the carriage I hastened
with all convenient speed through the gay and crowded streets
of < Merry Carlisle,' past the venerable Cathedral to the coffee-
house where ' luncheon ' was provided by the Directors. The
entrance was by a narrow passage, and notwithstanding the
exertions of the police, the crowd and consequent pressure
were very annoying.

" In the large Assembly Room three tables extended length-
ways down the room from a cross table, in the middle of which
the Mayor of Carlisle presided over this hungry and disorderly
assemblage. The Queen's health was drunk with great en-
thusiasm, and followed by three cheers of that hearty and
cordial gratulation which prevails at feasts in general, but
especially at gratuitous entertainments. ' Success to the Rail-
way ' was received with a similar demonstration of goodwill.

136 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1838.

" In the meantime I hastily helped myself to some cold beef
and bread, and after drinking the preceding toasts I went to
the railway station at the London Road ; this was at half-past
six o'clock, and it was generally understood that the trains
were to start at seven. I took the first opportunity of getting
into one of the same description of carriages that I came up
in, and had Miss Frances Burnup, Mr. Thomas Dunn, Mr.
, Anthony Nichol, and Mr. Cuthbert Burnup for companions.
It was not, however, until ten o'clock that we got fairly started,
and during this long period by far the greater portion of the
vast multitude were exposed on the outside conveyances to a
very heavy and long-continuous rain. After various stoppages
we reached Bedheugh at three o'clock, but some of the trains
did not arrive until six or seven o'clock. Much alarm was
therefore created in many families by this detention, and for
several days the discomforts and apparent want of method of
the whole expedition were the general theme of conversation,
and of very strong reprehension by many who had suffered
the inclement exposure and fatigue of a midnight and stormy
ride in the light dress of an expected summer-day excursion."

Coronation Day, June 28th, is referred to briefly. The
day was observed as a general holiday at Newcastle, as
elsewhere. In Newcastle there was a Radical meeting
on the town moor. The Council accompanied the Mayor
to church, where the Vicar preached a political sermon
against the progress of Reform. The military were
reviewed on the town moor, and the yeomanry fired a
feu de joie ou the sandhill. About 170 persons dined
with the Mayor, and a few places were illuminated.

On July 2nd the Diary records the birth, at Newcastle,
of a son,* Thomas Sop with.

In the summer of this year Mr. Sopwith published a
short treatise on the proposed line of road from Shotley

* The present Mr. Thomas Sopwith, of 6, Great George Street, West-
minster.

1838.] THE MONOCLEID, OR WRITING CABINET. 137

Bridge to Midclletou in Teesdale, to form, with existing
roads, a direct and easy line of turnpike roads from New-
castle-upon-Tyne to Lancaster, Preston, and Liverpool.
A good map illustrated the route.

Several other publications came through his hand
about this time, including a series of topographical
questions on quarry work, a descriptive essay of the
Monocleid or writing cabinet, " The Stranger's Pocket
Guide to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and its Environs," and a
second edition of his " Treatise on Isometrical Drawing."

The essay on the Monocleid writers' cabinet describes
a series of improvements on the writing table referred to
in a previous chapter. The Monocleid was a very hand-
some piece of furniture, and I know nothing with which
my friend was more pleased than with this invention.
Very shortly before his death he devoted an hour in
explaining to me the "ins and outs" of the ingenious
piece of mechanism, by which the whole of the drawers,
closets, and partitions could be opened by means of a
single lock, yet were so arranged as to be easily accessible
to any one seated in front. The cabinet was in no way
liable to get out of order, and was less costly than one
in which the locks used are on each drawer.

The pocket guide-book to Newcastle-upon-Tyne con-
sisted of one hundred and two pages. In it nothing of
moment in regard to the town is omitted. It formed an
excellent reference book for the members of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science, which held
its eighth meeting at Newcastle, commencing on August
20th of this year, 1838.

Some useful details are given in the diary respecting this
meeting of the British Association, and special reference
is made to Mr. Garnett's paper, read in the Mechanical
Section, on the Telegraph. The advanced men of science

138 THOMAS bQPWITH, F.R.S. [1838.

at this time were just dreaming of the practical application
of electricity to telegraphic purposes; but when some
thought, Mr. Sopwith told me, of sending a word a
hundred miles in a minute, "then we had to pick our
company;" by which he meant that such a seeming
miracle could only be told to a select few. At the meet-
ing he made the acquaintance of many distinguished
persons, and at his breakfasts entertained Dr. and Mrs.
Buckland, Mr. Charles Babbage, Mr. (afterwards Sir
Charles) Barry, Dr. Reicl, and other eminent persons.
He took also a great part in the geological work, having
by this time been elected Fellow of the Geological Society.
The following entry bears date August 25th : —

" I drove with Mr. Barry, the architect, to Falfield, and had
a very interesting conversation with this highly-gifted archi-
tect. We went to the Durham Junction or Victoria Bridge,
which was opened this day. As we approached this splendid
bridge, Mr. Barry greatly admired its general aspect and noble
proportions, but he condemned the small arches at each
end, which impair the general solidity so essential to the
character of the design. While we were viewing the bridge,
we heard one of the railway trains approaching with a great
number of persons present at the ceremony of opening the
railway. This train stopped at the south end of the bridge, and
a few minutes after another train approached at so quick a
rate as to threaten a violent collision. This in a few seconds
took place, but the result was much less seriously felt by the
passengers than might have been anticipated. Some accidents
occurred, but no lives were lost ; and in about half an hour the
party were enabled to proceed to Shields, followed by a train
of no less than a hundred and twenty coal-waggons.

" After walking along the bridge, we found Mr. George
Stephenson, the eminent engineer, Mr. William Brandling,
Mr. James Walker, the President of the Institution of Civil
Engineers, Mr. Nicholas Wood, and others, to whom I

1838.] COMMISSIONER FOR THE CROWN. 139

introduced Mr. Barry. After some conversation, in which
Mr. Walker deplored the innovation made on his design by
the substitution of three small arches instead of one large
arch at each end of the bridge, we proceeded to Pensher Quarry,
and after viewing it we returned to Mr. Buddie's house. Here
we found Dr. Buckland, Sir Charles Lemon, and Mr. Edward
Bigge. We returned through Lambton Park and arrived at
Newcastle, and Mr. Barry dined with me.

" Dr. Buckland and Sir Charles Lemon came in the even-
ing, and we spent some time in considering the best mode
of bringing the subject of an application to Government, on
Mining Records, before the Association."

In the autumn of this same year Mr. Sop with, was
appointed a Commissioner for the Crown under the
Forest of Dean Mining Act. On the part of the free
miners Mr. Probyn was appointed Commissioner, and
Mr. Buddie was nominated as umpire. Mr. Sopwith
often expressed the great satisfaction he felt at this
appointment. It was a post of great honour and respon-
sibility, and it came to him altogether unsolicited, which
rendered it the more satisfactory. On September 5th
the first meeting of the Commissioners was held at the
King's Head Inn, Coleford, at twelve o'clock ; but the
room not being large enough, there was an adjournment
to the Angel Inn, where he took the chair, and explained
the object of the meeting. On September 10th the
Commission sat at what is called the Speech House, dis-
tant three miles from Coleford, and situated in the midst
of the royal Forest of Dean. Here a very numerous
assembly of gentlemen, solicitors, and free miners was
collected. Mr. Sopwith opened the business. The sit-
tings continued for some time, with various disputes and
arguments in regard to possession of what is called " a
gale." The whole history is very curious, but is matter

1 4o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1838.

long gone by. Suffice it to say, that lie acquitted himself
in the delicate negotiations which took place with what
Mr. Buddie described as perfect diplomatic skill, and
that he left the Forest divided in opinion as to whether
its scenery or its people were most to be admired.

A curious little entry of September 22nd, 1838, has
reference to the Zoological Gardens in London. He
walked with Mr. Probyn to the Gardens, and found the
selection so meagre that it could scarcely be considered
as having commenced. But the walk to it was pleasant.

September 29th yields us a pretty bit of philosophy,
the first paragraph being a copy of a letter addressed
to Mrs. Sopwith, his "dear Jane " : —

" I always endeavour to be happy and comfortable, and
as much as possible at home ; and in this I am very often
successful in whatever part of the kingdom or amongst what-
ever class of persons I happen to be placed for the time being.
This appears to me to be a part of the philosophy of human
life. Every day, nay, every hour, is a beneficent gift bestowed
upon us, and requires and richly merits all the improvement
we can bestow upon it. These and similar reflections are often
suggested to my mind when I think of my family and home, —
of a cup filled to overflowing with every comfort I desire, and
above all a disposition to enjoy the present time whether at
home or abroad. These enjoyments are often closely combined
with my professional pursuits, and I often consider them in
reference to that clear, and elegant, and most useful rule of
life contained in the Church Catechism : ' To learn and labour
truly to get mine own living, and to do my duty in that state
of life to which it shall please God to call me.'

" This train of reflection is one which I often find both a
pleasing and a profitable occupation of my mind. The miseries
of human life are a fruitful source of dissatisfaction and of
complaint with a large portion of mankind; but it has ever

1838.] SOURCES OF HAPPINESS. 141

appeared to me that the misfortunes of men are in a great
measure chargeable upon themselves, and that if right objects
are pursued with a proper disposition of the heart towards God
and man, the general tenor of human life is that of cheerful-
ness and contentment. The condition of our nature, it is true,
is necessarily mixed with a portion of suffering and privation ;
but even these, nay, even the most severe afflictions, are found
to promote some lasting cause of happiness. As regards the
experience of human life, however, our own mind is the only
source which we can exercise any reasoning upon, for the
thoughts, and consequently the happiness or misery, of others
are hidden by an impenetrable veil ; but in our own minds we can
trace the operations of moral causes, and discover many of the
secret springs of good and evil. Rest in the conviction that a
God-given soul, as Wilson expresses it, has been bestowed upon
us to admire and adore the bountiful Creator of all things, and
above all to rely on the designs of an inscrutable Providence
which ' shapes our ends, rough hew them as we will.'

" The two points on which happiness mainly depends are
the regulation of the mind and the proper employment of time ;
the former of these is the source and the latter the result of
that inward satisfaction which is the only solid basis of a happy
life. Once secured, this happy frame of mind serves as a rock,
over which the stream of existence flows with an equal current,
which even the storms of adversity cannot disturb.

" There is not in the whole range of nature any type of
human life so striking as that of a river traced from its
fountain head, pursuing a devious and obscure path until it
widens into a noble stream, passing by mountains, plains, and
cities, and finally losing an individual existence in the vast
abyss of ocean, — the emblem of eternity. The placid surface
of such a stream reflecting the light of heaven, and the verdant
aspect of nature, are beautiful emblems of a mind delighting
ln the love of nature ; and in like manner an ill-regulated mind
is not unfitly represented by such a stream when

' Fouled with stains,
And swoln with torrents and descending rains.'

j 42 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1838.

" The regulation of the mind is greatly promoted by such
reflections as are here alluded to, inasmuch as by tracing the
past we are enabled in some measure to anticipate the future.
It is in this respect that I have often thought my journals of
some use, by recalling to my memory the scenes and adventures
of former years, and recording the impressions which were
then made upon my mind. The most important use of this
has been to show what circumstances were productive of present
comfort and future happiness, and hence the futility of many
pursuits which occupy mankind has been made apparent.
My convictions on some of these matters have occasionally gone
beyond what many persons consider as prudence ; but which
term, as often understood, has but a slight relation either to
piety or wisdom. To depend on others instead of ourselves
is often a source of great unhappiness, and I count it a peculiar
blessing that the lesson of self-dependence was enforced by
my father from his own knowledge of its inestimable value.
In marrying I carried this feeling so much into effect, that I
was then, and am still, impressed with the idea that a fortune
would have been a positive disadvantage. There is no reason
why it should be so ; but when the motives are known to be
purely disinterested, there is a solid ground for much happiness,
and that my own experience has largely proved.

" The pursuit of riches is another wide mistake and fruitful
source of evil ; for when once the love of gain has taken
possession of the soul, a long and sad farewell may be given to
all those charms which

1 . . . work the soul's eternal health,
And love and peace and gentleness impart.'

There seems, indeed, in the general disposition of events, a
continual disappointment which accompanies the pursuit of
improper objects, and that disappointment is often greatest
when that pursuit is apparently crowned with success.

" To the pursuit of riches, and of every object of hope winch
is selfish, this lamentable complaint very strongly applies. If
disappointment, in the ordinary sense of the word, ensues, there

1838.] LADIES AS VIOLINISTS. 143

i,s little solace for the loss; and success too often brings with
it the total destruction of every fancied charm. This holds
good throughout the whole framework of social order, and it
exhibits in the moral dispensations of Providence that same
aptitude of design and harmony of purpose which is so
admirably displayed in the arrangement of physical nature.
These considerations lead to deeper sentiments, which are better
fitted for the recesses of our own minds than for being recorded
in a journal of this kind.

" Next to the due regulation of the mind, the employment of
time is the grand element of human life. The hours spent in
my professional pursuits have always been agreeable to me,
inasmuch as they blend many interesting pursuits in one
harmonious whole. For the pen and pencil abundant occupa-
tion is afforded. A frequent change of scene gives variety of
company as well as of picturesque beauty, which has ever been
a great source of delight to me ; and hence the useful and the
sweet go hand in hand. In this manner business has proved
not only a source of profit but of pleasure, and occasional re-
laxation from it is enjoyed with a zest unknown to those who
are accustomed to vigorous and active business exertions."

In another note, dated September 27th, there is a
record of an evening party at Mr. Probyn's, at which the
music seems to have been extremely good. To his great
delight, Mrs. Probyn played on the violin, which led Mr.
Buddie, who was present, to state that he had always
held that the violin was both an elegant and appropriate
instrument for a lady. In this opinion Mr. Sopwith
joins, and comes to the immediate conclusion that it
shall be no want of exertion on his part to make his
eldest daughter, Ursula, a good fiddler.

It strikes me, in reading through these pleasant
memoirs, that my good friend, in doing so much for the

i44 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [ii

railway system, did a great deal to destroy the pleasure
connected with ordinary travelling ; for anything more
delightful than his description of his many thousand
miles a year of coaching and posting it were indeed
difficult to conceive.

Two more entries must bring this chapter to a close.

" Called on my friend Hervey, the eminent designer and
engraver on wood. Half an hour passed away very delightfully
in his den, as he called it— a small sitting-room in which he
pursues his avocations. The group consisted of Mr. and Mrs.
Hervey, Mr. Smith, a very able engraver on wood, Mr. Robert
Allison, myself, and, though last certainly not least curious,
a Bedouin lady, arrayed in true Oriental costume. She was
tall, handsomely formed, and with a tolerably pretty face. She
stood in one corner of the room in a very commanding but
somewhat theatrical posture. Strange to say, that though she
frequently changed her attitude, she never spoke, nor even
when I took hold of her beautiful hand and finely-pointed and
flexible fingers did she offer any resistance. She has been for
some time an inmate of Mr. Hervey's house, and assists him
greatly in his professional pursuits. Nor has she ever made any
mischief in the family. Mr. Hervey bought her in Paris for
£40. She has very pretty feet and fine ankles, which Mr. H.
especially directed my attention to ; and as to her head, its
contents may truly be said to be very solid, and not like that
of some ladies — fidl of emptiness. Her history is a very curious
one, but too long and marvellous to be inserted in these pages.

" I called upon Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Barry at his
office in the Speaker's house. He showed me some of his beautiful
plans, and his still more beautiful model of the new Parliament
House. This was indeed a treat, and I obtained Mr. Barry's
permission to bring any friends to see it on my future visits to
London. I spoke to him about Costello, and detailed at great

1838.] NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. 145

length all that I know of his capabilities and high character.
Mr. Barry said his establishment was tolerably complete, and
that he had innumerable applications; nevertheless, this should
really have his best attention, and I felt persuaded from his
candid and kind expressions that his promise will not be for-
gotten. Mr. Barry regretted that I could not visit him at
his house this time, and made me undertake to do so on my
next visit to town — an invitation I shall certainly not forget,
as I very highly enjoy the agreeable and unaffected manners
and intelligence of this most highly gifted architect."

Few great architectural works in this country have
been subjected to more severe criticism than the present
Houses of Parliament, and few probably will live longer
to attest the genius of the architect who designed them
and superintended them to their completion, if not to
their perfected beauty. In this view Sir Charles Barry
had always a powerful advocate in Mr. Sopwith.

10

CHAPTER XY.

IRELAND AND THE IRISH.

1838.

BOUT the middle of October 1838 Mr.
Sopwith received a letter from Liverpool
asking liim to undertake a mineral survey
of the west of Ireland. He acceded to this
on the condition that he should have a full week for
preparation; and on October 30th he set sail in the
Queen Victoria steam-packet for Dublin, accompanied by
Mr. Mackay. On board there were about four hundred
Irish labourers returning from the harvest in England,
who paid three shillings each for their passage on deck
to Dublin. They were nearly all men, but a few women,
children, and infants were amongst them. They each
returned home with an amount of savings averaging about
£2. They seemed for the most part to be exceedingly
cpiiiet, and to exhibit a quiescent cheerfulness, which now
and then became more mirthful in spite of the comfortless
condition they were placed in. One or two manifesta-
tions of a contrary feeling seemed likely to create an
uproar; but this was exceptional. They landed at North
Quay, Dublin, at eight o'clock a.m., the voyage lasting
eleven hours. The fare in the best cabin was 12s. 6d.,
with an additional steward's fee ; and provisions not
included in the fare were very moderate.

1838.] IRELAND AND THE IRISH. 147

One of the first persons called upon by Mr. Sopwith
in Dublin was Sir Richard John Griffiths, F.R.S., the
distinguished geologist, whose name has been rendered
so familiar to us, even to the present time, through his
land-valuation scheme. He turned out to be a very
agreeable man, and described with great care the general
structure of the district near Ennis about to be inspected,
the nature of the mineral deposit, and the progress made
in the mines there by Mr. Taylor, of Loudon. He said
he had been staying a month with Mr. Spring Rice, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, at Mr. Trenchard's ; that
the model of Dean Forest had been a subject of conversa-
tion, and had given great satisfaction.

A great many sheets of the diary are here extended in
details connected with the special business of the visit.
These details I must omit, in order to give in full a
summary of conclusions of a very clear and unbiassed
observer of Irish life and character half a century ago.
They cannot fail to be instructive at a crisis like the
present.

" General Notes on my First Visit to Ireland.

" 1. Travelling.— My journey from Newcastle was merely a
repetition of former ones in the stage-coach called the ' Lord
Exmouth.' From Liverpool to Dublin I enjoyed the com-
forts afforded by the very excellent steamship Queen Victoria,
belonging to the City of Dublin Steam Navigation Company.
In point of dimensions and every substantial comfort, it would
be difficult to imagine a more convenient or elegant means of
accomplishing this voyage of a single night ; but yet the mail-
packet Urgent, on which I returned, was certainly superior. In
both, however, I enjoyed an excellent night's rest. The sea
was smooth on both occasions, particularly on our return, when
not the slightest heaving of the ship was perceptible.

"On landing at Dublin, the Irish car had the claim of novelty,

148 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1838.

and I found it a most convenient mode of calling at different
places, inasmuch as you step at once from the seat to the
ground. The Irish mail-coaches I found to be very much like
those in England, both in size, in comfort, and in speed.
During my stay in the county of Clare, I had very excellent
travelling accommodation afforded by Mr. Scott's britzska and
phaeton, Mrs. Scott's phaeton, Mr. Macbeth's car and gig, etc.,
all of which were gOod in their way, and particularly the
britzska, which was built at Bristol, and was a remarkably
elegant, comfortable, and noiseless carriage. The public car
from Ennis to Williamstown was quite a treat in the way of
public travelling; a leather strap, and afterwards a branch
of a tree, sufficed for a whip, until an innocent country lad
was coaxed into an exchange pro temj^ore—thsd, is to say,
he very good-naturedly lent our driver his whip on a simple
promise to return it, and took the branch instead. Although
half an hour too late at starting, our loquacious conductor
assured us that we would arrive in due time at Williamstown
to meet the packet, ' barring accidents,' — which was well put
in, for the wheels were once or twice so hot and the horses so
lazy that a stoppage at one time seemed inevitable.

" A voyage in a large steamboat of one hundred horse power
was quite a novelty to be enjoyed in an inland piece of water,
and I greatly enjoyed both this and the voyage up the Shannon,
in a less steamboat of twenty-four horse power. I had never
in my life travelled in a canal passage-boat, and the voyage
therein from Shannon Harbour to Dublin was described by
a Limerick attorney as a nuisance, horrible beyond endurance.
I have never, however, been disposed to rely so much on the
opinion of others as on my own experience, and therefore I
resolved to try the voyage. Never was I more agreeably
surprised than to find, after sailing in it eighteen hours, I
arrived at Dublin too soon, so far as the pleasantness of the
journey was concerned. I heard the best Irish songs and
recitations, and had a most interesting account of Irish scenery
and superstitions from Mr. Dennis Leonard, of Kilrush ; besides

1838.] TRA VELLTNG IN IRELAND. 149

this, I had a very comfortable night's rest, and was altogether
much interested and pleased with my first journey on a canal.

" On my return to England I travelled on the Dublin and
Kingston Eailway, the Liverpool and Manchester, and the
Newton, Wigan, and Preston Railways, and from the latter
town by coach to Newcastle ; so that in the course of my tour
I travelled by land, by sea, and on rivers, lakes, and canal,
by no less than fourteen different modes of conveyance, viz.,
two stage-coaches, company's steamship, Dublin car, two
Irish mail-coaches, private car and gig, britzska, two phaetons,
public car, large and small steamboats on the Shannon, canal
passage-boats, three railway carriages, and several hackney
coaches. So far therefore as a brief visit afforded an oppor-
tunity of comparing different modes of travelling both in
England and Ireland, I had ample materials so far as vehicles
were concerned.

" Travelling in the mail in Ireland differs from the same
mode of travelling in England only in respect of the fees,
which are more moderate in Ireland than in England. There
is fully as much importunity from porters, etc., at the coach ;
but they are satisfied with a smaller sum, are good-natured,
and not so thoroughly dogged and impudent as English porters
when repulsed. Of course I can only speak from a very
limited experience, but my object was to observe, however
brief the opportunity; and this impression was produced during
the only coach journey I had in Ireland, viz., from Dublin to
Limerick, and from thence to Ennis. Steamboat and railway
travelling are on the same footing as in England and Scotland.
Posting on the great lines is said to be very good ; and as I
travelled from a hundred to a hundred and twenty miles by
post, I can add my encomium of the goodness of the horses
furnished at Ennis. The post-boy presented an odd contrast
to the generality of English postilions, by the exceeding
shabbiness of an old and ragged brown coat, which hung so
loosely upon him tlrat he seemed more like a pauper than a
post-boy. An Irish post-chaise is said to comport in some

150 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1838.

degree with the coat I have mentioned, but I had not an
opportunity of travelling in one.

"The travelling equipments in Ireland, so far as public
vehicles are concerned, are, with the exceptions I have named,
very far inferior to most of the public conveyances in England,
and many of the car-drivers in Dublin are arrayed in a series
of ragged vestments which even the shabbiest of London cab-
men cannot compete with.

" It only remains for me to observe on this head, that
travelling is cheaper than in England, the usual car fare being
eightpence a mile, and a fee of twopence per mile to the
driver, and for this four persons may travel very comfortably
in dry weather from one end of Ireland to the other. This
applies to the Irish mile, eleven of which are equal to fourteen
English miles, which for a party of four is about twopence per
English mile each; so at this rate a journey of one hundred miles,
exclusive of gates, would only cost about sixteen shillings and
eightpence. The roads in Ireland, so far as I saw, are generally
good ; those in the county of Clare particularly so.

" 2. Scenery. — To attempt to describe the varied scenery I
viewed in the course of my tour would be to write a volume
on the sublime and beautiful ; to descant on the rich and
varied attractions which abound in the ' Green Isle ' requires
an abler pen than mine, which is unblest with either powers or
leisure to do justice to so interesting a theme. In this brief
retrospect my only object is to record a memorandum of the
leading points without entering upon minute details, and hence
any allusion to the various beautiful and interesting scenes I
beheld will appear rather as a catalogue than a description of
them.

" The dreary wilds of Stainmore and the lofty mountains
near Sedbergh have become familiar to me. Not so the broad
bosom of the Mersey, and the still wider surface of the silvery
sea which reflected the light of the full moon. The ocean is
always grand, always beautiful, and I enjoyed its beauties by
moonlight at night and a splendid sunrise in the morning.

1838.] IRISH SCENERY. 151

" My first view of Ireland was an interesting sight. The
Bay of Dublin and the approach to the city were also ex-
ceedingly interesting.

" The Phoenix Park is a magnificent piece of ground, and
the scenery of the Zoological Gardens is a paradise on earth.

" I greatly enjoyed my moonlight ride through the interior ;
and in passing through Tipperary, which is at present in a
disturbed state, as if to give character to the lonely landscape,
a man lay in the middle of the road, and a delay of some
minutes occurred before we could ascertain whether he was
living or dead. He was quite insensible ; but his stupor was
at length ascertained to be the result of intoxication, a vice
too prevalent in this and indeed in every other country. The
country on approaching Limerick appears to be extremely
interesting ; but a very dull and rainy morning prevented
me from forming a correct estimate of it or of the town of
Limerick, through which we passed, and I saw no more of it
than in walking a short distance from one coach-oifice to
another. The scenery near Ennis is varied, some parts being
well wooded, and others quite bare. Cahircalla is a lovely spot.
Quin Abbey, a most inimitable subject for the antiquary and
the artist. The bare limestone rocks were quite a novel feature
to me, especially when developed on the ample slopes of the
mountains in the Burrin district. These are truly sublime,
and are of the highest interest in a geological point of view,
inasmuch as they in all probability are the depositories of
mineral wealth which, if diligently pursued and successfully
worked, would greatly contribute to the prosperity of the
district in which they are situated. The views at Burrin, the
shores of Galway Bay, the mountains of Connemara, the bold,
bleak, and rocky promontory of Blackhead (' O'ill luck to it,'
says Paddy, our post-boy ; ' may it be a long day before I see
its ugly face again'), and the coast of the Atlantic were all
fraught with deep interest.

" Different in character, more pleasing, but not less interest-
ing, were the views of the Shannon from the heights near

iS2 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1838.

Cahircon, the beautiful woodlands and lawns near that
mansion, the splendid view of the Fergus and its islands from
Mr. Arthur's fine seat at Paradise, and again the beautiful
lake and hills at Scarriff. The inland ocean of Lough Dearg
and the lofty mountains in its vicinity present a rich treat to
all who delight in the attractions of natural scenery. I might
enumerate many other highly interesting points regarding the
landscape beauties of the interior of Ireland, but will only
observe that my whole tour was a succession of interesting,
sublime, or beautiful scenes, which in summer must be still
more delightful.

" 3. Buildings. — I had heard and read and in pictures seen
much of the architectural grandeur of the public buildings
in Dublin. They are on a magnificent scale, and there is
much lightness and grace in the style of many of them,
particularly the Bank of Ireland and the Post Office. The
interior of the chapel at the Castle is truly splendid, and the
stranger finds easy access both to it and the interior of the
Castle when the Viceroy's family are not occupying it. Nelson's
Pillar affords a noble view of Sackville Street and of the city
generally. I viewed with much interest the venerable aisles
of St. Patrick, and the stately Doric interior of the Marlborough
Street Roman Catholic Church.

" The abbeys at Quin and Corcumroe, and the hall and lodge
at Cahircon, were the principal buildings that attracted my
attention in the county of Clare. A vast number of ruins of
castles are scattered over the country in every direction ; but
the most melancholy sights connected with the subject of Irish
buildings are the huts of the peasantry. It is truly deplorable
to find human beings lodged in such wretched abodes, and it
seems next to a miracle that life can be preserved throughout
a severe winter in so defenceless and exposed a situation as
these poor cottagers are placed. I was prepared to witness
much misery; but imagination, however fertile, will never
picture the sad and horrible and gloomy aspect of these
dwellings of the Irish poor. The Roman Catholic chapels

1838.] IRISH INSTITUTIONS. 153

which abound in Ireland form striking features in many land-
scapes. Those which I visited were large, plain, and unadorned,
the interior barnlike, and the whole presenting a cold and
poor and cheerless aspect.

" 4. Institutions. — My journey being one of business, and
not of general observation, I had little time to attend to public
institutions. The principal ones that I visited were the Dublin
Asylum for the Blind, where much good is clone, but which at
one time was nearly suspended by discord on religious topics.
I was much gratified by attending the first meeting of this
winter's session of the Eoyal Irish Academy, especially as my
friend Sir William Betham was the principal party in the
evening's discussion. Tea and coffee are provided in an ante-
room as at the London Geological, and Civil Engineers'
Societies.

"The Zoological Gardens are quite perfect as regards
situation and arrangement. Few vicinities of towns afford so
beautiful a site as has, in this instance, been selected ; and the
highest credit is clue to the contriver and designer of the several
cages, cottages, stables, etc. It is quite a model institution in
this respect, and far superior to the Liverpool Gardens and
the beginnings at Cheltenham ; and many of the arrangements
are more picturesque, appropriate, and convenient than even
the splendid establishment in Regent's Park, London.

" Of schools I had no opportunity to observe, except two
in the county of Clare. Both of these were in very remote
districts which are seldom visited. In both instances the school-
masters were remarkably courteous, and acquiesced most readily
in my request to hear the scholars read, etc. I must say that,
considering the scanty recompense, the solitary and unrewarded
nature of their toils, and the apparent success of their labours,
I felt much interested in them, and left them with very sincere
feelings of respect. It is true that the system of education,
under such wretched circumstances as that at Glanamana and
Finare, is by no means perfect ; but I was prepared to make a
large allowance, and I found it better than I expected. My

i54 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1838.

brief inspection of Irish schools and schoolmasters left on me
a most favourable impression ; and if I ever visit Ireland again,
a visit to the country schools will certainly be one chief object
of my attention.

" As nearly allied to the nature of a public institution, I
may mention the Imperial Hotel at Dublin, which I understand
belongs to a lax-ge company. The management is excellent; and
any stranger visiting Dublin will find every reasonable gratifica-
tion afforded by the ample premises, the elegant and convenient
coffee and dining-rooms, comfortable bedrooms, prompt attention,
Irish civility, and, though last not least, moderate charges.

"5. Religious Services and Ceremonies. — My first Sunday
in Ireland was chiefly spent in the Temple of Nature during
a journey of thirty miles, in which the lofty mountains, the
beautiful little lakes or tarns, the Bay of Galway, and a lovely
moonlight night could scarcely be viewed without many senti-
ments of reverential awe and admiration which the worship
of Nature never fails to inspire. Sunday travelling is objected
to by many on the score of religion. So far as my own feelings
are concerned I have not this objection ; for some of my Sunday
journeys have been productive of many feelings and sentiments
more closely allied to devotion than the eloquence of the
preacher can produce. I was glad to find the cottagers neatly
attired, and this alone reconciled me to my journey on this
occasion. I was very anxious to go to a Roman Catholic
chapel at Ennis, but was dissuaded on account of the crowd,
and the possibility of coming in contact with the fever which
at present is prevalent in the district.

" I have noticed in my journal the prayers offered up before
the pictures or stations in the chapel of Glanamana. Sincerity
in any garb is to be viewed with respect, and it is very possible
that these services may not be wholly unproductive of some
wholesome influence on the heart.

" I was much amused by the naivete of the answer given
by a Roman Catholic gentleman when I inquired if these
prayers were to expiate part of his sins. ' It is,' said he, ' upon

1838.] IRISH HOSPITALITY. 155

that speculation.' Viewed in a philosophical point of view,
the apparently earnest and sincere prayers of these people are
in their own view a meritorious work. Such is the opinion
formed in their minds in the situation in which Providence has
placed them ; and if the heart in any degree accompanies the
aspirations of the lips and the humility of the bended knee,
doubtless they depart not unimproved.

" An Irish funeral, and the remarkable custom of holding
or making a loud and frenzied lamentation for the dead, came
under my own observation, and the ceremony was too singular
ever to be forgotten. Those who delight in wild and horrible
romance need not on earth expect to find anything more truly
romantic and harrowing than the advancing wailing of an Irish
howl in a dark and lonely place. Mrs. Mahon, of Cahircalla,
who appears to have an admirable taste in the sublime and
beautiful of Irish scenery and manners, states that she once
heard an Irish howl set up on the borders of a lake along which
the funeral advanced, and the scene was one of the most pain-
fully interesting she ever heard. If ever witchcraft and infernal
agency returned to earth, an Irish funeral howl would be a
truly appropriate herald of its approach.

" At Dublin I attended the Roman Catholic chapel in Marl-
borough Street, where mass only was performed. The music
was very good, but no anthem was sung. The ceremony to
me was altogether unmeaning, for I heard not one word of
it. The congregation seemed very devout while the ceremonial
lasted, and very talkative and lively the moment it was ended.
" A moderate fee of a few pence secures the stranger admis-
sion, and I got a most excellent seat near the altar.

" The service at St. Patrick's, as a performance of fine music,
merits a visit, but, the ordinary service is not superior to
some of the daily cathedral services at Durham, York, Glou-
cester, or Westminster. Even as a musical service some very
considerable improvements might be made.

" G. Hospitality. — A pen capable of doing justice to Irish
hospitality must indeed be an able one. Mine, however, would

156 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1838.

certainly be negligent indeed if it were not to attempt, however
feebly, to record a brief memento of the kind civilities and
attentions I met with. First on the list I must place my friend
Sir William Betham, who on my first calling upon him gave
me an admirable specimen of true hospitality. He left his
engagements and walked with me to the Museum of the Eoyal
Dublin Society, which on that day was not open to the public.
He introduced me to Dr. Scauler, the eminent geologist and
mineralogist, to Sir William Hamilton, and various scientific
persons. He begged me to arrange so as to be in Dublin at the
first meeting of the Eoyal Irish Academy Club, and I became
his guest on that occasion ; and there, if time had permitted, I
might have laid the foundation of many other hospitalities, —
the only one which I could accept was the invitation of Charles
Wm. Hamilton, Esq., to breakfast.

" At Ennis I was truly at home in the hospitable mansion of
Mr. Macbeth, and was delighted with his children, especially
the eldest, James, who is a remarkably thoughtful and engaging
boy.

" At Cartron and at Cahiracon we had a plenteous abun-
dance of every comfort and luxury, accompanied by a welcome
too cordial and unaffected to be misunderstood. I must not
omit to add that the companionship of Mr. Mackay and his
hospitality at Liverpool, with that of Mr. Hasleton, and the
songs of Mr. Samuel Lover sung by their author and composer,
made a valuable addition to the hospitalities of Ireland, and
that a most grateful recollection and sympathy will always in
my own In-east be a memorial of the kind attentions and
civilities which met me at every step.

" I had several introductions which I could not avail myself
of for want of time. Among these were Mr. Owen, of the Board
of Works ; Mr. Owen, of Limerick ; Mr. Spaight, of Limerick ;
Sir Lucius O'Brien and two of his brothers ; and the Chancellor
of the Exchequer. So that for so short a visit I was well
provided with opportunities of observing and enjoying society
of various ranks in Ireland.

1838.] IRISH NATIONAL CHARACTER. 157

" 7. National Character. — Time ami experience can alone
enable a stranger to understand the peculiarities of character
in a new country, — I mean in a country new to his observation.
The hospitality which I experienced could not fail to make an
agreeable impression as regards the upper classes; and I must
say, so far as my limited means of observation extend, I
entertain a very favourable opinion of the Irish character
generally. The peasantry are placed in such a desperate state
of wretchedness and indigence, that one might well expect to
see a dark and frowning gloom hang on them countenance,
and giving ferocity to their general expression. It is not
so, however. You enter Paddy's miserable hovel ; your heart
sinks at the appalling want of even the commonest comforts
of life. A wife and a numerous progeny seem to render the
burden still more hopeless, for a life in such circumstances is
surely a burden, and one so heavy as few Englishmen and
probably no West Indian negro slaves have ever yet conceived.
But Paddy brightens up ; his face seems free from every care,
and he welcomes ' your honour ' with right good-will. If you
inquire your way, ' Och, I'll go with your honour ; ' and after
trudging a mile you have no solicitation for money, nor
apparently does he even think of such a thing. I saw many
instances of this, and the contrast with Englishmen is by no
means in favour of the latter. There is a general cheerfulness
prevalent among the lower orders of the Irish which seems
ever ready to break forth even under the most untoward
circumstances.

" Doubtless, however, there are some large deductions to be
made from the brighter page of Irish chai'acter. Revenge is
said to be cherished with fatal perseverance, and the cruelties
which have been inflicted in the disturbed districts are dreadful
to think of. A vast allowance, however, must be made when
we consider the imperfect education and the wretched condition
of the peasantry. Under favourable auspices I can have no
doubt that the leading points of the character of the peasantry
are highly calculated to promote general comfort and happiness.

i58 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [i!

" Improvidence and love of gaiety in the rich, and impro-
vidence and love of whisky in the poor, are bnt too prevalent.

" 8. Religion and Present Condition and Prospects of Ireland.
— The title of a volume, but a volume which could only be
written by one who has studied Ireland for years and visited
its different provinces. Viewing the subject with a mind dis-
posed to be impartial, I am not of opinion that the Roman
Catholic religion is adapted to promote the spread of those
liberal and enlightened views which are the brightest feature
of genuine Christianity. Cn the contrary, I think that the
freedom of inquiry and independence of mind which is the
very basis of Protestantism are admirably calculated to pro-
mote political freedom, and to break down the barriers which
unhappily exist between different persuasions. I have avoided
all topics connected with the theological part of the question,
and have looked at the religion of Ireland in that spirit of
Christianity which commands us to do to others as we would
they should do unto us. Looking at the subject in this broad
and unexceptionable point of view, and speaking only of the
districts which I have myself seen, candour compels me to
say that I view with regret a system which compels a population
of nearly three thousand persons to pay three or four hundred
pounds a year to the clergyman of ten or twenty persons.
Even these ten or twenty have no clergyman, have no church
save the ruins of one, and no service on Sundays, and no
resident minister. Will any one who has any claim to fair
and impartial judgment say that this system partakes in any
degree of the spirit of common honesty, much less of religion ?
It is, in fact, a treble premium given to Roman Catholicism ;
it is a premium given by the indirect influence of a bad
example which even the poorest peasant can understand and
condemn ; it is a desertion of the cause which the Protestant
clergyman is paid for advocating ; it leaves the Roman Catholic
chapel as the only place where any Christian can attend public
worship; and it is the greatest of all premiums, viz., persecu-
tion and injustice, under the influence of which Satan himself

1838.] THE IRISH CHURCH. 159

and bis ministers of darkness would flourish and maintain a
place from whence liberality and justice would sweep them
with one fell swoop. The property of the Established Church
applied in this manner can never fail to be a fruitful source
of discord ; and in a case to which I allude — the parish of
.Abbey, in the Barony of Burrin — there is an injustice so
manifest, that it appears to me to be quite apart from all
considerations either of religion or policy, and to be indis-
pensable on the broad and plain foundations of common
fairness and honesty. Let any Englishman ask himself the
question if, in a parish of two or three thousand Protestants,
he would see the tithes to the amount of three or four
hundred pounds a year sent to a Roman Catholic clergyman
living at a distance, and having only some ten or twenty
disciples, and they without any ministrations of religion 1 Can
there be any doubt as to his feeling indignation at so pre-
posterous an abuse1? At present there appears to be a de-
cided barrier between the Protestant and Roman Catholic
religions in Ireland. The one is supported by the aristocracy,
and possesses the property which the others formerly owned.
Whatever may be the opinion of Protestants as to the errors
and superstition which they attribute to the Catholics, can
they wonder at their continuance, when the field is wholly
abandoned to them, and an example shown of a clergyman
deserting his post and receiving his hire without performing
the labour required of him 1

" The long continuance of this state of things has engendered
so much ill-feeling that amendment can only be a gradual pro-
cess, to be effected by the influence from which alone any
permanent benefits can flow, viz., that of pure and active and
earnest benevolence. In such a case as I have mentioned,
nothing but a name and an abuse of an establishment exists.
The Roman Catholics are in possession, and likely to keep
possession, of the entire population of the parish above
named. They are, in fact, deterred from becoming Protestants
by the exhibition of what is manifestly unjust and clis-

160 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1838.

reputable, and hence an attachment to their own religion
grows with their growth and strengthens with their strength.
It is not by abuse and neglect and contempt that any good
is to be effected ; and these, it is to be feared, are but too
largely exercised towards the Roman Catholics of Ireland.

" Depending almost entirely on the lower classes, the Catholic
priesthood are described as becoming a less educated and con-
sequently less liberal class than they formerly were ; and their
remuneration, scanty as it is, is a heavy tax on the Irish
peasantry, who in a portion of their exorbitant rent pay the
minister of the Protestants, and again in their earnings con-
tribute to the support of their own Church. It is indeed a
fruitful theme for contemplation to consider this and other
features of the present condition of Ireland. Its resources are
undoubtedly great, but capital is wanting to bring them into
successful operation. Its inhabitants possess many agreeable
and excellent traits, but it is to be feared that improvidence
has greatly impaired its prosperity, and cast a dark cloud over
its future prospects.

" A general system of education, with especial reference to
sound morals, and commercial habits of calculation and eco-
nomy, with a liberal and benevolent and candid endeavour to
conciliate all parties by equal justice as regards the revenues
of the Church, together with the introduction of English
capital, and the cultivation of a liberal and friendly feeling
between these two countries, are the chief points which occurred
to me as likely to promote the welfare of Ireland. So far as
the introduction of capital is concerned, I have some reason to
believe that my visit to the county of Clare has not been un-
productive of some beneficial result, and my report on the
minerals of that county will probably lead to the expenditure
of at least fifteen hundred or two thousand pounds in mining-
adventures. Of the prudence of such an undertaking my
opinion is best expressed by the circumstance of my having
joined the parties along with Mr. Scott, of Cahiracon, making
in all twelve in number, and which I have proposed to denomi-

1838.] DISESTABLISHMENT TN IRELAND. 161

nate ' The County of Clare Mining Company.' Of this, how-
ever, there can be no doubt, that the expenditure of such a sum,
if it fails to be productive of profit as a mining adventure, cannot
fail to be highly beneficial to the district in which it is spent.
And so far as my share is concerned, I look at the speculation
as shrouded in that uncertainty which hangs over all mining
adventures ; but I shall not regret its loss if I have afterwards
to remember it only as a willing contribution — a humble but a
hearty one — towards the prosperity of a district which T shall
always recollect with feelings of deep interest."

It will be seen from this chapter how thoroughly
Mr. Sopwith anticipated the disestablishment of the
Irish Church, as well as the best of the arguments on
which that great political change was finally brought
about. Could his sensible ideas, formed in 1838, have
then been carried out, the troubles of to-day and of many
days still in the future had long since, possibly, been
forgotten troubles of the past.

11

CHAPTEK XVI.

A DAY IN OXFORD. DR. BUCKLAND AND
MR. JOHN BUSKIN.

1839.

^N the early part of February 1839, Mr. Sop-
with, after paying a very pleasurable visit to
Dean Forest, arrived on the 5th of the month
at Oxford, and became the guest of Dr.
Buckland. A description of this distinguished Doctor's
lecture-room is admirably pourtrayed, — a room in which
dear Frank Buckland, whom we knew so well, then a lad
of twelve or thirteen years of age, assisted his father by
bringing him " the respective specimens as they were
wanted," a sort of holiday amusement to Frank, who was
to return to school on the following Thursday.

Amongst other specimens Dr. Buckland at this time
was specially pleased to exhibit to his visitor was a large
slab showing casts from the impressions of the feet of
the Chierotherium. When wetted the indications of rain
having fallen upon it were quite perceptible on the
stone. Another specimen indicated the direction of the
wind at the time the surface was formed.

In the evening, after a walk in Christ Church meadows
with his host, they returned to dinner, where they met
Dr. Wilson, Professor of Sanscrit, the Rev. Edward
Bigge, and Mr. John Ruskin. The history of this meeting

1 839.] A DAY IN OXFORD. 163

with Mr. Ruskin in the earliest part of his career must
be told by Mr. Sopwith himself.

" Mr. Ruskin was invited because Dr. Buckland thought
I would be pleased to make his acquaintance, as a very-
intelligent person and admirable artist. Some descriptions
convey too high an idea, and Dr. Buckland spoke so highly
of Mr. Ruskin's drawings that nothing but a sight of them
coidd have given me a better idea of them.

" After a very pleasant conversation, during winch Dr. Wilson
related several very interesting particulars concerning India
and its natives, we had a new stranger introduced on the
dinner-table. This was a live salamander which Dr. Buckland
found at Liege, and which crawled about very peaceably on
the tablecloth. I described the East India Company's maps
to Dr. Buckland, and while we were talking the loud tones
of the Great Tom of Oxford fell on my ears. This bell, the
largest in England, hangs in the tower of the gateway of
Christ Church, near to that part of the quadrangle in which
Dr. Buckland resides. I went to the door, and stood for some
time listening to its tremendous tones as they rolled through
and reverberated from the gloomy walls of the spacious quad-
rangle of venerable buildings of which Dr. Buckland's residence
forms a part. In the drawing-room I had some conversation
with Mr. Ruskin. He asked my opinion about the principles of
perspective drawing recommended in Mr. Parsey's book, and
I told him veiy freely my opinion of it. I said I had bought
his book for twelve shillings, that I thought myself very foolish
for throwing away so much money on so useless a production,
and had never supposed that it would occupy any share of the
attention of any intelligent person. The subject, I said, had
been discussed at Loudon's table, where I laughed heartily at
the manner m which Candidus rode rough shod over Parsey
and his whimsical perspective. I explained my views at full
length, both as to the theory and practice of this method of
perspective, and was glad to find that Mr. Ruskin was the

164 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1839.

author of the able papers which have appeared in Loudon's
Magazine under the title, or rather signature, of Kata Phusin
(according to Nature). It was truly delightful for me to
become acquainted with the ingenious author of these very
able papers, and still more so to find that we exactly coin-
cided in opinion. His essays on the ' Poetry of Architecture '
range exactly towards the same feelings and objects as those
which influenced me in the composition of the papers on the
' Principles of Design ' in the same magazine.

" Dr. Buckland's house is truly characteristic as the residence
of a geologist and a scholar. The exterior is a plain, low,
rustic, time-worn Gothic wall, being part of the large quad-
rangle of Christ Church College. A low and very plain-
looking door opens, and you behold a very wide and short
staircase, almost covered with fragments of rock, specimens of
fossil remains, an immense tortoise, and a stuffed wolf.

" In the breakfast-room are a series of piles of books, boxes,
papers ; in short, such a combination of book -stands, chairs,
sideboards, boxes, all blended together in one mass of confusion,
which, I was informed, had not been invaded by the dust-cloth
for the last five years. The drawing-room at Dr. Buckland's
has its share of variety, of great interest, and of a tolerable
deal of confusion, through which a person might range a whole
day, and find some new index every moment pointing to weeks
and months and years of occupation. One of the round tables
is formed entirely of coprolites ; another presents on its highly
polished surface all the varieties of lava, etc., found at Mount
Etna.

" But the most interesting part of this interesting mansion
is the domestic comfort which so eminently prevails. The
children are five in number. Francis, the eldest, is about
thirteen, a fine, good-looking, active lad, full of movement and
vivacity. Edward, Marian, Elizabeth ; and the youngest a
fine thriving lad, who rejoices in the truly geological name of
Adam Sedgwick Conybeare Buckland. I must not omit to
mention my humble eulogium on the kind hospitality, the

1839.] MR- JOHN RUSKIN. 165

amiable character, and the literary and scientific talents of
Mrs. Buckland, who, it has been often observed, has been
expressly intended for the Doctor.

" Having finished nay sketch of the house and family, I have
only further to say that I closed the day at midnight, and
enjoyed a most comfortable night's sleep. I shall always
remember it as a red letter day, and noted in the calendar
of my memory as A Day in Oxford.

u February 6th. — Dr. Buckland invited Mr. Buskin to
breakfast, and requested him to send his drawings for me
to look at. He also formed a most admirable programme
for the day, which he detailed to me, and I was delighted
to find that I was to have the honour as well as the great
gratification of his devoting the whole day to my amusement.

" As soon as we had breakfasted we commenced an inspection
of Mr. Buskin's drawings. These are contained in four large
folio volumes. They consist entirely of original sketches in
England, Scotland, and various parts of the Continent. Most
of them are in pencil, on tinted paper, and touched with a few
slight effects of light or colour.

" Architectural subjects prevail, and comprise very clear,
minute, and exceedingly beautiful details of some of the most
celebrated cathedrals, churches, ruins, etc. There is great
spirit, richness, and freedom of touch in his style of drawing,
which are peculiarly adapted for elaborate architectural drawing ;
and some of his views, as Boslin Chapel, for instance, are one
mass of sumptuous decoration arranged in just perspective and
in good keeping. They appeared too extravagantly rich by
daylight, but in the evening they showed to more advantage
by candlelight. The colouring was after the fairy-like and
aerial tints of Turner and Martin, and some of the mountain
views had great depth and sublimity ; one of them in particular
seemed like a vast and glorious prospect of immense mountains
1 austing on the sight through a hazy atmosphere, an effect in
which the judgment is at a loss to determine whether the
vision is of the eye or of the imagination. Those who delight

1 66 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1839.

in seeing correct and vivid portraits of distant scenery, in
beholding splendid architectural combinations, and in admiring
the highest efforts of art, -wall readily appreciate my enjoyment
in looking over these beautiful volumes. The Apprentices'
Pillar at Roslin ; an old oak hall, with a forest seen through
the window; interior views of chapels, etc., with red sunsets
and rich purple tints; the magnificent tower and spire of
St. Mary's, or University Church, and of Merton Tower in
Oxford, — these and many other similar drawings are inimitable
examples of that accordance with nature which Mr. Buskin
has so ably and so eloquently advocated in Loudon s Archi-
tectural Magazine under the signature of Kata Phusin. Many
of the landscape views were commented upon by Dr. Buckland
with reference to the geological features.

" I had a long and agreeable conversation with this excellent
amateur artist, who is now residing at Oxford as a gentleman
commoner ; and it was no ordinary gratification to lay the
foundation of a further acquaintance with him under such
favourable auspices as an introduction in the house of
Dr. Buckland."

Amongst his many admirers the distinguished author
of " Fors Clavigera " had not one more earnestly sincere
than Mr. Sopwith. One night, at the Society of Arts, Lord
Shaftesbury in the chair, we had a discussion in which
Mr. Ruskin ran a-tilt at steam engines, arguing that
they did the work which should alone be done by the
human engine. I reported this to my friend with some
glee, knowing his admiration of the steam engine as
well as of Ruskin. He thought a little while, and then
observed, with his characteristic sly humour, " Well, the
human is the best engine, and if Ruskin could get the
same amount of work out of it he would be right."

CHAPTEE XVII.

LOVE OF TRAVELLING. MR. BABBAGE AND THE CAL-
CULATING MACHINE. LESSONS IN ASTRONOMY.

1839.

IN February 7th Mr. Sopwith left Oxford in a
stage coach for Tring, a distance of thirty-
four miles, and then by railway train to
Wolverton, a distance of twenty-one miles
accomplished in fifty minutes. Here the train stopped
ten minutes for refreshment, from whence it proceeded
to Coventry, passing through a tunnel of considerable
length. He did not experience any disagreeable effects
as regards the air of the tunnel, but the darkness and
sudden glimpses of light while passing the shafts pro-
duced a peculiar dazzling effect. Proceeding onwards he
reached Birmingham at five in the afternoon, where,
finding he could not get on to Preston, he stayed
all night, putting up at the Railway Hotel.

In his way to Preston the following day by mail tram
he met Mr. Taylor and the Rev. George Kennard, the
last-named warm in his description of a patent railway
invented by Mr. Kolman, an organist and an excellent
musician. Mr. Kennard related a good story of Dr.
Buckland, to the effect that Buckland and a friend
riding towards London on a very dark night lost their
way. Buckland thereupon dismounted and, taking up

1 68 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1839.

a handful of earth, smelt it. " Uxbridge," he called out
to his friend, "his geological nose telling him the
precise locality." Mr. Sopwith reached Carlisle at nine
o'clock, slept there all night, and on the folio wing
morning returned home, pleasantly, by rail.

Sopwith was a born traveller ; everything about
travelling brought to him happiness and health. At the
close of his journal for 1839 he writes on this topic : —

" I enjoy travelling on many accounts ; it agrees well with
my health ; every year seems to improve both my strength
and spirits. Headaches, toothaches, and a tedious train of
minor grievances seem totally banished by the refreshing
influences of change of ah- and scene. This must ever be
subject of gratitude, while at the same time it is incumbent
ever to remember that in the midst of life we may be on the
verge of death. Happy is it for us that the day of our de-
parture from this world is unknown to us, and that a full reliance
on the wisdom and goodness of the Supreme Disposer of events
reconciles the mind to a contingency which experience shows to
be very remote. In practice, however, I prefer acting rigidly
on the possibility of sudden death by arranging matters from
time to time, and at this time of the year by seeing my life
insurance paid on the very day it becomes due. It is im-
possible to travel so much as I do without recollections of this
kind often presenting themselves to my mind.

" Travelling is, to my mind, one of the most interesting
occupations that can be pursued during the middle period of
life. It affords many opportunities of intellectual as well as
physical enjoyment, and combined as it is in my case with
duty as regards my professional employment, it is at once a
source of pleasure and profit. The past year has, as compared
with the preceding year, been a good deal spent at home, but
in the two years I have travelled upwards of three thousand
miles, entirely in Great Britain."

1839.] MR. B ABB AGE. 169

In March my friend visits Ebbw Vale to make a
valuation of mines, of which he leaves in his diary some
curious and important details. A little later in the
month he is in London dining at the Geological Club
(March 13th), where he meets, in addition to Dr.
Buckland the President, Mr. Justice Haliburton, author
of " Sam Slick's Sayings and Doings," the Marquis of
Northampton, President of the Royal Society, with
many others. After the dinner there is an attendance
at the Geological Society, when Sedgwick, De la Beche,
Roderick Murchison, and Phillips are present. After
the meeting they adjourn to Lord Cole's to supper,
where they stay till two o'clock in the morning, and
where some of them, including Mr. Sopwitk, meet again
at breakfast, in order to be introduced to Mr. George
Rennie. On the following day he is at the College of
Surgeons, inspecting the Hunterian Museum and making
the aquaintance of the illustrious man at the head of it,
Professor Owen.

March 15th contains an entry in which the views of the
famous Mr. Babbage on literary property are described.

" 1 dined at Mr. Greenough's in the Eegent's Park. It would
require a long description to convey even a slight idea of the
extent and sumptuous elegance of this mansion, which may
indeed be described as a palace rather than a private villa.
It was built by Decimus Burton, the younger, and is figured
in several architectural works, both in England and on the
Continent. We had a small, but very agreeable dinner party,
consisting of Professor Babbage, Robert Hutton, Esq., M.P.
for Dublin, and Mr. Jukes, who is going out to Newfoundland
on a geological survey. We had a conversation on various
subjects, but chiefly on copyright and photogenic drawing.
Mr. Babbage considers that a literary work is the production
of labour equally with the acquirement of land by trading, and

1 7o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1839.

that so long as land is transmitted from generation to generation,
so ought the copyright of every original literary production. As
to identity, a word altered in each and every sentence would
satisfy him as the criterion of a work being different, and with
this as a limit the work might be altered, enlarged, improved,
condensed, or whatever else was thought necessary by any other
writer. Inventions, he thought, were different, for it was pro-
bable that an invention would at some time occur to another
person, but the same literary ideas would never be expressed
in the same language."

An entry immediately follows, rich in social interest;
a very faithful description of one of the famous evenings
of fifty years ago, given by Mr. Babbage at his residence
at the foot of Manchester Street, Manchester Square.

"March \§th. — At nine I went to Mr. Babbage's soiree.
There was a great assemblage of nobility and of scientific persons,
amongst whom I had the pleasure to converse with the follow-
ing : the Marquis of Northampton, President of the Royal
Society, — his manners are extremely pleasing, and expressive
of kind and amiable feelings ; Mr. Talbot, the inventor of a
kind of photogenic drawing in which the object appears white
and the rest- of the surface of the paper is very dark,— some
very admirable examples of which were lying on a chiffonier
and attracted great attention : the finest films of vegetable
form, and the minutest threads of the finest lacewoi'k, are
shown with surprising delicacy and clearness ; Sir Francis
and Lady Chantrey, G. W. Wood, M.P., Robert Hutton,
M.P., Professor Phillips, Professor Wheatstone, Bellender Ker,
George Rennie.

" Of those whom I only knew by being pointed out were :
Admiral Ooclrington, M. Van de Weyer the Belgian Ambas-
sador, Professor Faraday, Mr. and Mrs. Collidge, Mrs. Marcet,
Lady Charleville, Wentworth Buller, Lady Chatterton, who
wrote " My Aunt Dorothy," Charles Darwin, Charles Lyell,

l839.] THE CALCULATING MACHINE. W

Sir William Gossett, Mrs. Rothschild (widow of the famous
stockbroker) Mr. Hawes, M.P., Dr. Holland, Lady Monroe,
M "Idy the tragedian, Lady Nugent, Admiral Sir Char eS
and Lady Ogle, Sir John and Lady Shelley, Sydney Smith
Lady Mary Shepherd, Lady Vincent, Wilkie the celebrated
painter, and many others of whom it may be truly said
I newspaper fashion, their names are 'too numerous to
mention.' "

A further entry is a curiosity in reference to the Babbage
calculating machine.

-March llth.-l went at eleven to Mr. Babbage's and re-
mained till after four. A large portion of this time was occupied
in an inspection of the drawings and plans of the calculating
engine, which are very elaborate and present an extraordinary
combination of machinery. Mr. B. detailed at great length the
history and prospects of this invention. Alter thirteen or
fifteen years' labour, and an expenditure of twenty thousand
pounds, the engine was suspended for lack of further fund
five years ago, and it is yet uncertain whether it will be
completed. I saw a portion of it which was placed in the
drawing-room, and performed the operation of cubing eighteen
in thirteen seconds by merely grinding, or rather by moving a
handle backwards and forwards twice. The result was of course
correct ; the following are the figures, viz., 5832. Mr Babbage
is now employed in constructing plans and very voluminous
details of another and very superior engine, which will he
says, perform the most complicated problems m the highest
departments of arithmetic and algebra. A multiplication of
thirty figures by thirty figures is done in three minutes. He
showed me his writing table, reading chair, work room mode
of keeping his letters, warming his rooms, the classification
of his library, and many other very interesting matters with
which I was much gratified. Many of these arrangements are
similar to those which I have pursued at home.

172 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1839.

" I dined and spent a very pleasant evening at Mr.
Murchison's, the talented geologist of the Silurian region."

The record in the diary for the rest of the year 1839,
rich in local matter, and rendering- an account of various
journeys to London, Cheltenham, Ebbw Yale, Forest of
Dean, Gloucester, Denbigh, St. Asaphs, Birmingham, Holy
Island, Durham, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick, Berkeley
Castle, and the Severn, affords but few points that would
be of interest to readers of this day. A brief notice is
given of the Chartist Riots in Birmingham in July, and
mention is made of similar riots in Newcastle. An
excellent account is written of Stratford-on-Avon, and
a very graphic description of Warwick Castle, but there
is no attempt at anything that is specially new. There
is, however, a note about Robert Owen which deserves
notice. On November 19th Mr. Owen called upon him
to unfold the plans of his proposed community buildings.
Mr. John Hancock joined them, and remarked on the
bump of benevolence in Mr. Owen's head, while Mr.
Sopwith expressed his opinion that the plans were en-
tirely visionary, but that he wishes all theorists would
advocate their views with Mr. Owen's good nature and
perfect candour. The conversation then turned on Mr.,
now Lord, Armstrong's application of water power.

At times in the year he was busy with invention, and
was greatly taken with Mr. Jordan's experiments on
photogenic registration, the first starting-point of what
is now likely to become one of the most beautiful and
wonderful of the works of science. He suggested the
application of a lens to lessen the size of the record
and to increase its clearness by additional intensity of
light. This method of Jordan, with his own suggestions
upon it, he expounded to Dr. Nichols, of the Glasgow

1839-] LESSONS IN ASTRONOMY. 173

University, and author of " The Architecture of the
Heavens," who was much struck by both these advances.
In this year he took part also as a lecturer and essayist
as well as reporter on the mineral districts of the County
of Clare, Ireland, and he wrote a paper for the Polytechnic
Society on his method of recording- states of weather by
descriptive symbols. On November 6th I find him at
Durham University delivering a lecture to the students
on certain points connected with plans, sections, geological
drawings, and models. It must have been a strikingly
practical and useful lecture.

He first remarked on the frequent use, the great
importance, and the extreme accuracy required in
levelling as applied to the selection of lines of road,
the formation of railways, the drainage of fens and
other districts, to geology, and to mining. In all these
pursuits facility is highly important, first, in taking the
observations, and, second, in recording them in the field
and on drawings. He then described the different forms
for such records, and gave a specimen confined simply
to the two differences and the lengths in levelling. He
next explained the method of constructing geological
sections, and the mode of observing and delineating the
rocks, etc., by plans, sections, and isometrical drawings.
He exhibited models in detail to illustrate the construc-
tion of geological models, so as to afford a clear idea of
complicated geological structure ; and he commented on
the method and advantages of preserving mining records.
On November 23rd we discover him delivering a
lecture for the Popular Lecture and Musical Society of
Newcastle, before an audience consisting of from seven
to eight hundred persons ; the subject, " Some Outlines
of Astronomy." A good portion of the lecture was
of the usual historical character, with some refined

i74

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

[1839.

and yet serious touches bearing on the grandeur of the
science as a study. He afterwards entered into details
known to astronomers respecting the sun, the moon,
and the planets ; and then, in his own homely and
original manner, described the distances of the planets
from the sun by a comparative scale, in which one inch
should represent the diameter of the earth. The sun
would then be 110 inches or 9 feet 2 inches in diameter ;
Mercury, f inch ; Venus, nearly 1 inch ; the Earth, 1 inch ;
Moon, \ inch; Mars, \ inch; Jupiter, \\\ inches ; Saturn,
10 inches ; Herschell, 4^ inches.

The proportion of distances would be by a scale of
feet: —

30 millions of miles

68

95

Mercury .

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter .

Saturn .

Herschell

144
494

906
1,812

360 feet

680

950

1,440

4,940

9,060

18.120

125 inches = 1 million, but in the above 120 inches was
assumed, or 10 feet as an approximation.

As a further illustration of the immense distance of
the planets, he explained the time it would take to count
a million, thus : 60 per minute, 3,600 per hour, for nine
hours a day, would require upwards of a month, but say
one month; then to count at this rate the distance
of the planets from the sun would require as follows : —

For Mercury .

3 years

and

3 weeks.

„ Venus

5 „

11

8 months.

„ Earth

• 7 „

11

11 „

„ Mars

■ 12 „

j)

3 weeks.

„ Jupiter .

. 41 „

>j

2 months.

,, Saturn

• 75 „

>>

6 „

„ Herschell

. 151 ,,

11

1 month.

From the earth to the moon 7 days 3^ hours.

!839.] DISCUSSIONS AND CALCULATIONS 175

Another illustration was afforded by taking a velocity
with which the public were familiar ; and as every one
was not conversant with locomotive speed, he supposed
a body moving from the sun to the planets with the
velocity of the mail coach,— ten miles an hour. The
time such body would arrive at the several planets
after it left the sun would be as follows :—

At Mercury
„ Venus
„ Earth.
„ Mars .
„ Jupiter
„ Saturn
„ Herschell

360 years.

680 „

950

1,440

4,940

9,060

18,120

He defined, by a diagram, the relative velocity of the
planets, in minutes, in their course round the sun, as
follows : —

Mercury

Venus

The Earth

Mars .

Jupiter

Saturn

Herschell

1,824 miles in a minute

1,335 „

1,135 ,, >5

920 ,, ,

498 „

368 „

258 ,,

or80,110 miles per hour,
or 68,130 „

or 28,895 ,,

He closes the year 1839 in his library, reading-room,
and writing-room. His dearest Jane is reading beside
him. His family of three girls and two boys are well,
but Ursula has not long recovered from a severe illness.
He has been busy with his accounts, which show a good
return, and his hope is that succeeding years may be as
happy, as comfortable, and as prosperous as the one just
passed.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CLEG&S ATMOSPHERIC RAILWAY. MRS. ROBEBTSON.
SIR FRANCIS CHANTREY. THE "GREAT WESTERN"
STEAMB OAT. REMINISCENCES.

1840-41.

^HE year 1840 was a busy one, and almost
all devoted to professional work. In the
course of the year Mr. Sopwith travelled six
thousand miles. His duties as a Com-
missioner on the part of the Crown for the Dean Forest
mines required him to make several visits to Dean Forest,
in nearly all of which he had the agreeable and in-
structive society of his esteemed friend and brother-
Commissioner, Mr. Buddie, of whom he always speaks
in the warmest terms of respect and affection. His
engagements led him to Pontypool, Swansea, and the
valley of the Neath, where he viewed some valuable
property belonging to the Duke of Beaufort, and made
a model of the mountain Alt-y-grey. He also went to
Midsomer Norton to survey the mine belonging to the
Dean and Chapter of Christ Church. Similar professional
business took him to Denbigh, Flintshire, and Shropshire,
to Holy Island for a survey for the Government, and to
Alston Moor in company with Dr. Buckland.

Of men of note whom he met at this time he mentions
first Mr. Robert Stephenson, a man very agreeable in

1840-41.] CLEGG'S A TMOSPHERIC RAIL WA Y. 177

his manners and a master 011 a variety of topics.
Stephenson had just been on a tour through Italy and
Switzerland. Another gentleman to whom he makes
special reference is Mr. John Taylor, whom he de-
servedly ranks as one of the most enterprising and
enlightened miners that this country has ever produced ;
a man of great abilities, and at the same time of
the most amiable and pleasing manners ; who has for
many years been extensively concerned in mining in
Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, and Mexico. Dr. Kay (after-
wards Sir J. Kay-Shuttle worth), Secretary to the
Committee of the Council on Education, was another
friend of whom he speaks in very warm terms; and on
the Earl of Enniskillen, a nobleman as unassuming as
he is learned and scientific, he grows quite enthusiastic.
Sir Charles Lemon comes, in like manner, into the list of
those whom he holds in the highest estimation, especially
in reference to his (Sir Charles's) proposition to endow a
school of mines in Wales.

An entry of September 5th gives us the first glimpse
of the idea of an atmospheric railway. The inventor
and patentee of this original design was Mr. Clegg, who
took Mr. Sopwith to Wormwood Scrubs to see half a
mile" of the railway in operation there. The plan met
with Mr. Sopwith's approval. The practicability of the
plan seemed to him to be satisfactorily established. It
possessed peculiar advantages tending to the speed,
safety, and pleasantness of railway travelling, and pro-
bably also to economy. It is somewhat remarkable that
after such recommendation from so cautious and able
an observer as Mr. Sopwith, Clegg's plan should have
been allowed to have passed into oblivion.

Under date of September 24th there is a record of
the expenses of a journey of two hundred and seventy

12

178 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1840-41,

miles — one hundred and twenty by coach, and one
hundred and fifty by rail ; the summary of this showed
that inside coach travelling cost fivepence and railway
travelling threepence per mile.

A note on October 8th gives us an account of an
American-built engine which had found its place on
the Gloucester and Cheltenham line. This engine was
shown to him and to Mr. Buddie by Captain Moorsom,
the engineer of the line, who took them on the engine
while it ran seven miles one furlong in fourteen minutes,
and explained to them its construction. The particulars
run as follow : —

"October 8th. — This engine (the Victoria, No. 84) is eight
and one-third tons weight; and the ratio of the cost, including
duty, as compared with English engines, is as seventeen to
fifteen. The cylinders are outside, and are eleven inches
diameter with a twenty-inch stroke. The wheels are four in
number, and four feet diameter ; they are not coupled. The
whole rise from Cheltenham to Cofton is about five hundred
feet. The inclined plane is above two miles in length, rising
one in thirty-seven. Two engines draw ordinary trains up at
twelve miles an hour; a single engine six miles an hour.
Sand is used on the rails in wet or frosty weather. There
are ten or eleven American engines and four or five English
engines on the line. The iron plate of the fire-box Captain
Moorsom thinks is not so good as in the English engine, and
the tubes should be brass instead of copper."

On October 21st there is a note indicating that he
went with Mr. W. G. Armstrong and Mr. W. G. Anderson
to try a number of experiments on the newly discovered
electricity of steam. " The experiments," he says,
•' were very curious and satisfactory," and greatly in-
terested him. He quotes also a few lines from a
letter by Dr. Buckland to intimate that the Doctor has

1 840-41.] MRS. ROBERTSON. 179

shown some articles of painting and sculpture, sent him
by Mr. Sopwitk, to Sir Robert Peel, Lady Peel, Sir
Francis Chantrey, and the elder Stephenson, " to their
no small edification and amusement," and to which " the
new post-office arrangements have afforded such facilities."

1841.

The amount of business which Mr. Sopwith had to
conduct in London at this time necessitated the occu-
pation of offices in Berners Street, in which he took
temporary residence in the early part of 1841. On
January 5th, 1841, he read, before the Geological
Society, his well-known paper on geological models.
On this occasion he made the acquaintance of Mr. (after-
wards Sir Charles) Lyell. On the 8th of the same
month he notices Dr. Reid's first attempt to ventilate
the House of Commons. On the 17th of the month he
drew a little picture of an artist whose name, now well-
nigh forgotten, was then one of the well known.

" Dined at Mr. Robertson's, where I was delighted with the
splendid specimens of art by Mrs. Robertson ; this inimitable
portrait-painter is better known on the Continent than in her
native country. Her paintings are remarkable for the sold
of poetry which seems to pervade them, and the rich harmony
of colour corresponds with the music of Haydn or Mozart.
During the last eighteen years she has painted no less than
seven hundred portraits, some of them being oil-paintings of
various sizes, the rest large miniatures. The largest size of
her oil-paintings is the size which artists call 'Bishop's full-
length' — viz., 9 feet high, and 5| feet wide; for these her
price is from three to four hundred guineas ; and amongst her
sitters for oil-paintings of various sizes have been Lord and
Lady Milton, Lady Rolle (300 guineas), Lady Majoribanks
and children (400 guineas), Lord Rivers (200 guineas), Mr.

180 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1840-41.

and Mrs. Heneage (200 guineas each), Mrs. Leigh (200 guineas).
As miniatures she has painted the Duke and Duchess of
Northumberland, Duke and Duchess of Buccleugh, Mar-
chioness of Lothian, etc. ; these cost 100 guineas each. She is
at present in Russia, where she has painted a Bishop's full-
length of the Emperor (300 guineas), and two paintings of the
same size of the Empress."

On January 21st Dr. Buckland suggested " Monocleid"
as an appropriate name for the writing cabinet, and Mr.
Sopwith accordingly adopted it in the printed description
of it which he drew up, with wood-cuts by Miss Loudon,
sister of the celebrated J. Claudius, Loudon.

" On January 25th Mr. Lyell called and spent nearly three
hours examining the hand models, and in conversation on
general matters. He expressed a wish to introduce engravings
of the models in his forthcoming edition of ' The Elements,'
and I assured him that I felt a sincere pleasure in offering any
contribution to one who had communicated so much informa-
tion, in so pleasing a form, as he had done. Professor Sedgwick
also called and examined the large section of the strata from
Howne's Gill to the summit of Crossfell, which he honoured
with the appellation of this ' gorgeous section.' I dined and
spent the evening at Mr. Loudon's, where Miss Loudon
instructed me in the first rudiments of wood-cutting, and
under her able tuition I made a small and very imperfect
wood-cut."

The Minutes of the Institution of Civil Engineers,
bearing date of February 2nd, 1841, records that Mr.
Sopwith called the attention of the meeting to the
valuable geological sections presented by the railway
cuttings and other engineering works now in progress.

On March 13th he is once more at Oxford, where
Dr. Buckland assists him in the arrangement for the
further description of his models. He suggested that

1840-41.] SIR FRANCIS CHAN TREY. 181

six might form one series, and be useful in conveying
a general notion of strata and denudation, while the
remaining six would be more appropriate as illustrating
more complex conditions. He read to Mr. Sopwith the
MS. notice of these models contained in his address to
the Geological Society in February last, and in which he
comments on the usefulness of such dissected models,
and the value of their adaptation to geological and
mining purposes.

In Dr. Bucldand's society, Mr. Sopwith felt he was
with a man perfectly sincere, prompt, and generous in all
he said and did; he was in every sense practical, plain,
straightforward, and persevering ; he had an intimate
knowledge of the world, and his acute observation was
in constant operation. To a fund of deep and original
thought he added an extraordinary degree of mental
activity and acquirement ; and all these were blended
with a cheerfulness of disposition and heartiness of
manner which rendered his company and conversation as
delightful as they were instructive and improving.

March 18th gives us an interview with Sir Francis
(Jhantrey.

" I showed him Ronketti's thermo-barometer, which he had
not seen nor heard of. ' I always,' said he, ' carry a ther-
mometer when I go fishing, and the first thing I do is to
plunge it into the water. If the water is colder than the
air the fish will rise, and a good day's sport may be expected ;
but if the air is colder than the water, they know better than
to put their noses out.'

"Sir Francis expressed his approval of the monocleid cabinet,
the isograph, etc., and I felt much gratification in spending
two or three hours with this intelligent and truly eminent
man. He said he was anxious to avail himself of the aid of
the daguerreotype, in order to obtain exact representations of

182 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1840-41.

his sculptured works, which, as he justly observed, ' would be
good sitters.' "

Then follows, on same day, an account of a dinner.

" I dined this evening at Mr. Ord's, in Berkeley Sqviare ;
Mr. Orel introduced me to one of the guests, but I did not
catch his name. Mr. Ord said I had just come from Oxford,
and this led to a conversation on the subject of Puseyism, of
Mr. Newman and his style of preaching, and various other
matters. I was not aware until dinner was half over that
this guest was no other than the President of the Council,
the Marquis of Lansdowne ; I sat opposite to him at the table,
and had some further conversation respecting Dean Forest, etc.
Nothing could be more plain, unassuming, and agreeable than
the whole bearing and conversation of this much-respected and
highly-talented nobleman. Among the other gentlemen present
were Colonel Clive, of the Guards, and Mr. Westmacott, the
sculptor."

The grand event of this year, the building of the Great
Western steamboat, is the subject of a note in the early
part of May.

"May 3rd. — I attended a meeting at Messrs. Harford, Da vies,
& Co.'s office, in Small Street, and dined with Mr. Davies, of
Cotebank, in the evening.

" I went this afternoon with one of the directors of the
Western Steamship Company to see the large iron steamer
now in progress at their establishment. The buildings and
machinery belonging to this concern have been erected at a
cost of £40,000, one moiety of which is to be charged to the
leviathan of a vessel now in progress. The works are situated
on the south side of the River Avon, midway between the
Quay and the Clifton New Bridge. The building is of vast
extent, and the machinery, by Fairburn of Manchester, is
of first-rate excellence. The vessel, which the public, pro
tempore, denominate the Mammoth, is now built up to the

i84o-4i-] THE "GREAT WESTERN." 183

height of her deck, with the exception of part of her stern ;
so that by standing at the stern, or a little outside, a complete
view of the hull of the vessel is obtained. Her length is 319
feet 6 inches ; the breadth of course is various, but about 50 feet
is an approximation to the width of deck midway in the vessel.
The thickness in the plates of iron varies from § inch to 1 inch,
the latter being the keel plates. The ribs are about 2 feet
apart. The keel is flat-bottomed, and her bows remarkably
thin and sharp.

"The outlay on the vessel alone up to this time is £30,000 ;
the cost is estimated at £80,000, which, with £20,000 share of
the building, makes £100,000; but this, like many other
estimates, will probably be exceeded. The engines are not yet
made. It is stated that her weight will be only four-fifths of
the weight of a wooden vessel of like calibre."

On June 22nd, after dining with Mr. William Cnbitt

at 6, Great George Street, Westminster, Mr. Sopwith went

to the meeting of the Society of Civil Engineers, and read

a paper on the construction and use of geological models

in connection with civil engineering. The paper was

divided into six parts: (a) application of modelling to

geological and mining purposes ; (6) material to be

employed ; (c) mode of construction ; (d) scales to be

employed ; (e) objects to be represented ; (/) use of

model's and connection with civil engineering. At the

close the author observed that the avocations of the

civil engineer peculiarly qualify him for an observant

geologist ; and that, being called upon to visit so many

different districts, the observations he could make ought

to be replete with instruction. In speaking on this paper

Dr. Buckland, in instancing the utility of a knowledge

of geology to the engineer, mentioned that after the

Thames Tunnel had been commenced by Sir Isambard

Brunei, upon an assurance of those who made the

184 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1840-41.

borings that they had reached the London clay, it was
found that they were actually traversing the sand of the
plastic clay ; hence arose nearly all the difficulties which
the engineer had to encounter, and in overcoming which
he displayed so much skill and perseverance.

On July 24th, the Dean Forest work being near its
conclusion, Mr. Buddie gave a dinner to the Forest
friends, to which thirty-eight sat down; and on the 26th
the Mining Cornniission was brought to a conclusion.

On August 29th Mr. Sopwitk describes as a novel inci-
dent that he had his likeness taken by the daguerreotype
process at the Polytechnic Gallery.

" The operation only occupies one minute, and the charge is
a guinea for the miniature and a few shillings for the frame,
according to the taste of the person, who chooses it from a
large assortment kept on hand."

In the evening he went to a concert at Drury Lane,
where a novelty was introduced of exhibiting tableaux
vivants, or living figures clothed in white dresses closely
fitting the body.

On September 2nd he is at the Royal Gardens at Kew,
where he finds Sir W. Hooker, as usual, in great force,
full of activity and vivacity, and apparently thinking and
speaking and walking about four times faster than any-
body else.

In September he attended the meeting of the British
Association at York, and read a paper on the importance
of preserving railway sections. He also produced some
new and beautiful specimens of electrotype by his friend
Mr. Jordan. After the meeting he spent a few days
with Mr.kTh.omas Wilson at Banks, during which visit
he writes: —

" I walked with Mr. Skelton to some of the manufactories

1840-41.] REMINISCENCES. 185

of steel conducted by himself and partners. Iron is converted
into steel by the absorption of carbon, from eight to ten or
twelve tons being converted at a charge ; and the process
occupies several days, varying according to the degree of
hardness required ; and for some purposes the process is re-
peated two or three times. The introduction of carbon blisters
the steel, which is submitted to the heavy and exceedingly
rapid blows of the tilting-hammer. The activity and precision
of the workman who presents the heated bar of steel to be
formed and fashioned by this incessant and noisy monster is
such as can only be acquired by long practice, and hence such
men receive a high rate of wages, amounting, I was told, to four
or five pounds a week in some cases. The blows of the tilting-
hammer are sometimes as many as four hundred in a minute,
and are, as well as the rolling mills, worked by water-power
from reservoirs in the River Don."

A tour in North Wales with Dr. Buckland in October
of this year opens up some very pleasing passages,
including accounts of visits to Snowdon, the Menai Straits
with a view of the bridge, some glacial researches down
the Neath Valley, Bangor, Carnarvon, and Holyhead.
The journey afforded much information for both travellers.
In the same month, namely, on the 25th, he, in company
with Mr. Buddie and Mr. Robert Stephenson, went to
Bristol to inspect " the stupendous iron steamship " then
being built there, containing, without the engines, eight
hundred tons of iron. They started from Paddiugton
Station, and travelled at the rapid rate of fifty-three
miles an hour. In his reminiscences at the close of
1841 Mr. Sopwith dwells with much sympathy on the
death of his friend Sir Francis Chantrey, sculptor, who
left an impression on him never to be recalled without a
feeling of sincere attachment for the extreme sincerity
and amusing remembrances of his bright anecdotes on

186 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1840-41

fishing, on the sliding scale, and other subjects. He
speaks warmly also of Alexander Milne, Esq., one of Her
Majesty's Commissioners of Woods and Forests. Robert
Stephenson and John Buddie are again associated in his
recollections, together with Mr. Isaac Cooke of Clifton,
Mr. Benjamin Haywood Bright of Bristol, the Rev.
Henry Douglas of Durham, William Ord, and the artist
Sir William Harvey. Amongst men of science with
whom he came much in contact during the year he enrols
Sir Roderick Murchison, Mr. de la Beche, Professors
Owen, Phillips, Whewell, Bowerbank, and Basil Hall ;
with, as engineers, Mr. James Walker, President of the
Institute, and Messrs. William Cubitt, J. Rendel, Robert
Davison, J. Murray, and J. Macneil. He also places in
the list of his present friends Lords Lansdowne, Dun-
cannon, Fitzwilliam, and Sudeley.

In his professional work in 1841 he travelled over
seven thousand miles, all pleasant travelling, with many
agreeable and profitable hours spent in connection with
geological and mining pursuits.

CHAPTEE XIX.

A MEETING OF CELEBRITIES. LIEBIG, BUCKLAND,
DAUBENY, BUSKIN, PLAYFAIR, AND D ALTON. A
TOUR IN YORKSHIRE. THE ARMSTRONG HYDRO-
ELECTRIC MACHINE. TELFORD MEDALLIST.

1842.

[HE year 1842 presents few subjects of moment
until we arrive at September, when there
appears in the diary a peculiarly interesting-
account of a meeting at Wakefield of the
West Riding of Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic
Society, at which some of the most distinguished living-
men were present. The description of this meeting is
rendered in the following entry :—

" Seirtember 1th.— In the course of the forenoon I had the
pleasure of meeting Mr. WiUiam West, an eminent chemist of
Leeds, and several other friends who are connected with the
Polytechnic Society, the Quarterly Meeting of which I at-
tended at noon, and had the gratification to meet the noble
President Earl Fitzwilliam, Dr. Buckland, and Professors
Liebig, Playfair, and Daubeny, all of whom took an active part
in the proceedings. I was called upon to explain the model of
Ebbw Vale and Sirhowey, and also my set of twelve geological
models, which were set on the table in front of the President.
I did this verbally, and wished to be very brief, knowing that
the time of the meeting was limited, and that an interesting
paper on architecture remained to be read. At each effort to

188 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1842.

abridge, however, Lord Fitzwilliam urged me to go on, and
apjDeared much interested. Afterwards Dr. Buckland rose,
and describing some peculiarities of structure, pronounced an
eloquent eulogium on the great importance of preserving
mining records in a modelled form.

" At 3 o'clock I dined with the Society, Earl Fitzwilliam in
the chair, and at 6 o'clock I went with Mr. West and another
friend in a chaise to Leeds to a meeting which I had been
invited to attend. It was in the music-hall, a large and
elegant room, which was filled by a respectable company of
ladies and gentlemen of what is commonly termed the middle
classes. Earl Fitzwilliam presided, and Drs. Buckland, Liebig,
Playfair, and Daubeny were present, as was also Mr. George
Stephenson, the celebrated railway engineer.

" Several very interesting addresses were made, and espe-
cially one by Dr. Buckland, which was afterwards reported
fully in the Leeds paper, and transferred to the columns of
the Mining Journal under the heading of an ' Important
Geological Address ; ' and such it certainly was, for it included
a graphic desci'iption of the local phenomena of the structure
of the carboniferous rocks, their adaptation to supply a great
manufacturing district with coal and iron below, and with
abundant fruits of the earth on its rich surface, and ascribed
in very eloquent language these and similar arrangements to
benevolent design.

" His observations were received with rapturous applause,
and still more so was a long and very characteristic address
by Mr. George Stephenson, who alluded to his defective educa-
tion, and bis still speaking what he calls the ' bad language
of Northumberland,' meaning its dialect. He also referred
to the difficulties of cross-examination before Parliamentary
Committees, and said he would almost as soon face the gallows.
He urged the importance of education, and alluded to many
interesting topics, all of which afforded great delight, and gave
rise to long-continued acclamation.

"I said a few words, as few as possible, in acknowledgment of

1842.] A TOUR IN YORKSHIRE. 189

the good wishes expressed by the meeting towards the Natural
History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle."

Another entry on the following day is curious.

"September 8th. — I left Leeds in a first-class carriage of
the railway train which starts at six in the morning, and
after a safe and pleasant journey to Sheffield, I hired a ' fly '
and went directly to Middlewood Hall, distant about three
miles from Sheffield.

" I then went by hilly roads over a very hilly country to
Ecclesfield, and to Milton and Elsecar Iron Works. It rained
in torrents, but this had not deterred the scientific party from
their investigation of these places. I found Dr. Daubeny,
who had taken shelter in one of the workshops, and afterwards
we joined Buckland, Liebig, and Playfair. I was invited by
Lord Fitzwilliam to dine and sleep at Wentworth House, but
had previously promised to join my kind friends at Middle-
wood, and to this arrangement I adhered, although it would
have been a great treat to have dined in company with three
Presidents of the British Association, Harcourt, Fitzwilliam,
and Buckland, and other eminent scientific guests assembled
at the hospitable mansion of the noble Earl."

After the close of the Wakefield meeting Mr. Sopwith
and Dr. Buckland made a tour in Yorkshire. Amongst
the incidents of this tour I notice specially a description,
very unique, of Clapham Cave, near Settle.

" Sept ember 11th. — Dr. Buckland sent a note to Mr. Jackson,
inviting him to accompany us on our expedition to Clapham
Cave, to which he returned an assent on a neatly embossed
card. After an early breakfast we started at seven o'clock,
accompanied by Mr. Howson and Mr. Jackson, and examined
several rocks by the way. Limestone scars impend over the
east side of the vale, and the Millstone grit thrown down by
the great Craven fault passes along the line of the road or
very near it.

i9o THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1842.

" We had a pleasant drive to Clapham, a village at the
base of Ingleborongh, and walked up a beautiful valley called
Clapdale. The great lion of the place is the cave, which Dr.
Buckland pronounces to be probably the finest of its kind in
the world that has hitherto been explored. About fifty yards
from the entrance has long been accessible, but it was only
about four years ago that attention was called to further
exploration by a great quantity of sand and gravel being
washed out after a heavy flood.

" The proprietor, James Wilson Farrer, Esq., of Ingle-
borough House, was absent, but his son and nephew, and a
guide named J. Harrison, accompanied us on a survey of the
subterraneous wonders of this magnificent and extensive cavern.
" It would require a large volume, and a vast number of
drawings, to convey any tolerable idea of the beauty of this
place. Every step presents some marvellous combinations,
which excited the highest admiration and astonishment ; here
a stately column, there a noble dome, a clear lake reflecting
beautiful groups of pendent stalactites, the water flowing in
curious pulsations over round masses of rock, some places
reminding one of the modelled ruins of an ancient city, and
others presenting a fac-simile of Alpine glaciers. One strange
projection of rock resembled the open jaw of an infuriated
dragon ; some of the pendent stalactites emit musical tones,
which at a short distance have the melody of a fine peal of
bells. Dr. Buckland suggested the name of Lady Chapel for
a beautiful chamber in which festoons of stalactites descend
like gracefully flowing robes.

"It is a marvellous, a transcendently beautiful, a deeply
interesting and instructive lesson of Nature's silent but effective
labours even in the bosom of the mighty hills, where unseen,
unknown, unthought of, this cavern has from age to age been
forming, and is now for the first time presented to the wonder-
ing eye of man.

" On our return we examined some scratched and polished
rocks by the side of the lake, one of which Dr. Buckland

1842.] ARMSTRONG STEAM ELECTRIC. 191

suggested should be preserved by having a cover over it. We
had luncheon at the hospitable mansion of J. W. Farrer, Esq.,
with his brother, his son, and nephew."

On September 27th there is a note on the Newcastle
Musical Festival, and on October 22nd another note on an
examination of students in engineering at Durham, with a
brief reference to Professor Chevallier, who was present;
and on October 29th there is an account of a visit to see
the working of the " Centrifugal Railway." The experi-
ment did not seem to be very satisfactory. One of the
attendants went round safely enough, but a Mr. Rively,
who tried the experiment, was thrown off. He was not
hurt, but his escape was marvellous. I pass from these
particulars to the description of the Armstrong hydro-
electrical machine.

" November 15th. — Mr. William Armstrong has constructed an
apparatus the electrical powers of which are most astonishing.
A boiler 3 feet 6 inches long and 18 inches diameter, with fire-
box below, is insulated by being supported on four glass feet
on a carriage. The strength is very great, being capable of
a pressure of 300 lbs. per inch, but in the experiments alluded
to about 70 lbs. pressure is found to be as effective as a higher
power. The result is attested by a discharging electrometer, —
the capacity of the jar being | a gallon — the balls i inch
apart. The number of discharges from a 3-feet plate machine
being 26 per minute, that of Mr. Armstrong's steam, under
exactly similar conditions, is 280 per minute, or more than 10
times as powerful.

" There are 14 jets, viz., 7 on each side, each jet discharging
as much steam as would at 70 lbs. pressure pass through a
circular aperture of T\- inch ; 7 jets gave 70 discharges in half
a minute, hence 14 jets give 280 in a minute. The length of
spark from the boiler is from 12 to 14 inches, without any
proper apparatus for elongating the sparks.

i92 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1842.

" The hair or fingers held in the jet of steam are brightly
illumed with electrical light, and the effects are not less
beautiful than curious, new, and important."

On November 24th Mr. Sopwith delivered a lecture
before the Geological Society of Manchester; and on the
26th he was taken by Mr. Kennedy, one of the leading
men in Manchester, to call on the illustrious Dr. Dalton,
the founder of the Atomic Theory. They discovered the
philosopher reading a newspaper by the fireside. He
was now infirm, and spoke with difficulty, but was most
kind and cheerful in manner. On November 28th my
friend went to Leeds, where he delivered a lecture,
before the Mechanics1 Institution and Literary Society,
on Geology as evidencing benevolent design.

In the reminiscences of this year the loss of his child
Mary Jane holds a prominent place, although her long
and painful illness, and the sad prospect that she would
never enjoy vigorous health in mature life, somewhat
alleviated the suffering. The remarkable talents of
Mr. William G. Armstrong,* a solicitor in partnership
with Mr. Donkin in Newcastle, are referred to, with the
observation that Mr. Armstrong ought to have been an
engineer, and with the expression of the high opinion
he entertained both of the head and heart of his
ingenious and valued friend.

Again there is a reference to Mr. John Ruskin, whom
he has met in London, and " on whom his feeble enco-
miums cannot convey the faintest idea of the consummate
skill of an artist of truly amiable and pleasing cha-
racter." " My visits " to his library, says Mr. Sopwith,
" had the good effect of teaching me a lesson in humility
which I shall never forget, for whatever I have done in

* Now Lord Armstrong.

1842.] RECEPTION OF THE TELFORD MEDAL. 193

sketching shrinks into insignificance when compared with
his elaborate and magnificent works." The thousands of
enthusiastic admirers of the John Ruskin of to-day will,
without doubt, join with unanimous voice in crediting
Thomas Sopwith with the prescience with which he
estimated the talents of their master.

This early recognition of supreme talent is, however,
not really remarkable, since it came from one who was
himself by nature a gifted though not cultivated artist.
Some of Mr. Sopwith's sketches are worthy of warm
commendation. They are extremely faithful to nature;
the perspective, when that comes into play, is good, and
the colouring is always grateful. Here and there through-
out the diary sketches and drawings of local scenery
abound, each one conveying the usual touches of industry
and fidelity.

Two final reminiscences afford him this year great
pleasure — one, that in the first month of the year he
received from the Institution of Civil Engineers a Telford
medal, awarded for his communication on Geological
Models ; and two, that in the last month of the year he
found himself in the enjoyment of the best health and
spirits, with from eight to nine hours' sleep, and great
benefit from taking his breakfast directly after he has
risen from bed.

13

CHAPTEE XX.

HOME INCIDENTS. A VISIT TO BOULOGNE. RIGHTS IN
DEAN FOREST. A VISIT TO BELGIUM.

1843.

[HE year 1843 produced from Mr. Sop with
a report of an engineering expedition to
Belgium for the purpose of a survey for
the first Belgian railways. Previous to
this, however, there are some records of interest on
matters at home. In March he was led to comment
on a movement then commencing in Newcastle, and
having relation to the development of High Church
principles and practice. A Broad Churchman himself,
and fond of everything that is artistic, and especially of
music, Mr. Sopwith held, it would seem, an independent
and strong place in the controversy. He was most
favourable to the introduction of music of a high class
into the Church services, believing that the services
would thereby be made much more attractive and
beneficial. At the same time, he was opposed to all
ceremonials that would bring the Catholic ritual into
the Church of England. He was not opposed from any
sense of bigotry to the services of the Church of Rome;
on the contrary, he thought that the ceremony of the
Romish Church was of itself magnificent. His objections
related to the introduction of portions of it or imitations
of it into the simpler English form of worship. I d©

i843-] JOHN CLAUDIUS LOUDON. 105

not think he ever changed from this view, a view which
has been and is largely held by many thousands of his
countrymen.

In this month he speaks with great pleasure of a visit
which he received from an excellent as well as an
eminent man, Dr. Duncan of Ruth well, Dumfriesshire.
Duncan was the originator of Savings Banks, and author
of " The Philosophy of the Seasons ; " in every sense an
amiable, original, and accomplished man.

On March 31st I find him reading a paper at the
Literary Institution at Newcastle on County Clare, in
Ireland, and a thoroughly good practical paper it is,
dealing not only with descriptive topics, but briefly with
the condition of Ireland and the urgent necessity for
better government for that unhappy country.

On April 8th he dined with Mr. John Claudius
Loudon, a very remarkable man of letters, who died at
Bays water on December 14th this same year. Of him
Mr. Sop with reports, in speaking of his death : —

" It has very often been my good fortune to enjoy
the society and friendship of this accomplished and truly
amiable man. He was in a great measure self-educated,
having gradually made himself a position, and surmounted all
the obstacles which lay in his way from being a humble
assistant to an enterprising cabinet-maker and publisher, to
his being rightly viewed as one of the most industrious and
able writers on Botany and other subjects. He was the
editor of various works, such as the Gardener's Magazine,
the Architectural Magazine, etc. But the most elaborate of
his compilations was the ' Arboretum Britannica,' a work of
enormous labour. By some wrong treatment when being
shampooed, he suffered an injury which required the am-
putation of an arm, and the fingers of his remaining hand
were contorted in such a way that he held a pen or pencil

i96 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1843.

with difficulty. It may be safely said that, as regards the
quantity of letterpress composition, and of pictorial illustra-
tion, which appeared with the express sanction of his name
as author, editor, or publisher, few, if any, have exceeded
Loudon in productiveness. Take, for example, his ' Cottage,
Farm, and Villa,' — what a vast mass of reading, what a great
deal of minute reference to very accurate plans, sections, and
other illustrations. I had for many years the privilege of
dining with him at his plain family dinner any time I chose
to go, and I not unfrequently had this very great pleasure. No
ceremony as to dress. Conversation in a free and unmeasured
and most friendly manner was the true charm of the feast."

Mr. London was a keen observer of nature, and
possessed a considerable skill and taste in design.
Ornamental gardening was part of his profession. On
the day when Mr. Sojwith visited him on his sixtieth
birthday, April 8th, 1843, he was overworking himself
in order to recoup the losses he had sustained in pub-
lishing his " Arboretum Britannica."

In April and May Mr. Sopwith is in London again on
parliamentary work. On April 13th he dines with the
New Madrigal Society at Freemasons' Tavern, and after
dinner, when the cloth is cleared, the Madrigals begin,
and continue to the end of the meeting. A choir of boys
from St. Paul's had great effect. On April 23rd he
breakfasts with Mr. Ruskin, at Denmark Hill, in order
to see water-colour drawings, which are much admired.
We have become accustomed of late years to look on
Mr. Buskin purely as the art critic, but those who
knew him in these early days were strangely impressed
with his skill as an artist. Amongst these admirers
Mr. Sopwith must be ranked, and I may add that he
retained his opinion on this matter to the end of his life.
The last time we ever spoke together about Mr. Ruskin

I843-] VIEWS ON RECREATION. 197

he remarked, " A great art critic without a shadow of a
doubt, but would have shone with equal light if he had
kept to his natural gift — art itself."

On April 28th there is a note that Mr. Edwin Chad wick
called at Berners Street to discuss with him some points
on the health of towns. Chad wick, then in his prime,
is attracted by the idea of getting a series of maps and
models for sanitary purposes similar to the geological, —
an excellent idea, which afterwards bore good fruit.

On May 15th he is at dinner with Mr. Robert Stephen-
son, at Hampstead ; and on May 22nd a proposal comes
to him from Mr. Fearon, with explanations from Mr.
Cubitt, that he should undertake a series of surveys in
Belgium for railway engineering purposes.

Returning to Newcastle in June, he received a visit
from Mr. Moses Richardson, to look over sketches for the
commencement of a work to be called the " Table Book ; "
and on June 25th (Sunday) he is at St. Thomas's Church
listening to a sermon by the Rev. Richard Clayton,
directed against the evils of the racecourse. The sermon,
he says, was excellent, and free of all narrow prejudices
and intolerance, but denouncing the misconduct which
abounds, to a lamentable extent, not only at races,
but at many other of the popular entertainments of
the English people. Commenting on this matter in
the note below, he gives us a good example of the
advanced views he held on the important topic of
recreation at the time specified, views which are only
just now coming into practical application.

" It is, however, my belief that the mere denunciation of
excesses will do little to repress the natural desire which is
felt for recreation, and until more harmless amusements are
provided we must not expect any material change in long-
established customs, especially when supported, as racing is,

i g8 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1843.

by royalty, by the nobility and gentry, and by municipal
authority.

" The school of evangelic reform, to which this excellent and
zealous clergyman belongs, repudiates all attempts to substitute
a harmless field of amusement in the way of museums, botanical
gardens, etc., and deems them unsuitable occupations for
Sundays ; hence all rational hope of amendment is nipped in
the bud, and the bulk of the public cling to whatever law and
custom have left them of their favourite pastimes.

" A Race Sunday assuredly presents many demoralising
scenes, but the opportunity for getting ah- and exercise tempts
many to the tents on the town moor who would more willingly
have gone to the quiet and fascinating enjoyments of a
botanical garden, if such a means of innocent recreation had
been afforded them."

On July 10th John Bright visits Newcastle to deliver
one of Ms famous addresses on the Corn Laws. My
friend is of the audience, and makes a critical note on
the speech he has listened to. Mr. Bright is described
as an excellent speaker, adapting his subject very ably
to the comprehension of his hearers.

On August 19th Mr. Sopwith started for Boulogne,
steaming across the Channel in the Water Witch. It was
a steamer with two thirty-five-korse power engines, with
a tolerably spacious deck, and a gloomy cabin. This
was the first time he had ever left the British Islands,
and it afforded him a kind of new view of life. He
was uncommonly pleased, surprised, and instructed by
his first visit to a French hotel, the Hotel du Nord, of
which he gives a vivacious description, as he does also
of the then existing theatre at Boulogne. To these he
adds notes on the fair and the Haute Ville.

"The Fair. — This present Sunday, August 20th, is the last
day of a fair which begins on the 5th and lasts fifteen days.

1843.] BOULOGNE. 199

The fair is held on the esplanade ; the wooden stalls are
covered with lead, and are made so as to close at night ;
they were filled very much in the manner of an English
fair, with toys, jewellery, etc. There were a few shows of
the diorama kind, with drummers, etc., but no crowd, no
mountebanks, not much noise ; and several rouge et noir
tables.

" Haute Ville. — I examined the principal streets of the high
town, saw the Palais Imperial, once the residence of Napoleon,
but now shorn of all its grandeur. I walked entirely round
the ramparts, which are partially planted, and command very
extensive views of the low town and harbour, the adjacent
country, the sea, and the English coast. The walls are of
great height, and form a rectangle of about three hundred
metres by two hundred metres, at the base of which are
gar-dens and very pleasant promenades, planted with rows
of trees."

The return from Boulogne was on the 23rd, and the
next labour undertaken was an essay of very considerable
historical value on the Free Miners of Dean Forest.

The essay sets out with the statement that if we look
at a map of Gloucestershire, we see an angular portion
northward of the spot where the river Wye joins the
Severn, and abutting upon the Counties of Monmouth
and Hereford. In this angular portion is situated the
Forest of Dean, which has been the property of the
Crown from time immemorial. At intervals the laws
and customs by which this Forest is regulated have come
under the notice of Parliament, chiefly in relation to the
respective rights of the Crown on the one hand and the
inhabitants on the other. In the year 1838 an Act was
passed by which three Commissioners, Mr. Sopwith,
Mr. Buddie, and Mr. Probyn, were appointed to settle
various disputes, and to place the government of the

200 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1843.

Forest on a better footing. The Commissioners published
an elaborate description of their labours in November
1841. They found that the Forest comprised an irregular
area of about thirty miles in circuit, covered for the most
part with timber, and containing extensive seams of coal
and iron. From earliest times all male persons born in the
hundred of St. Briavel's, in which the Forest is situated,
have enjoyed the right of working these mines, subject to
the leave or licence of the gaveller or the deputy-gaveller,
and to the payment of an annual gallage rent or duty to
the Crown. The share of the Crown has been reckoned
as one-fifth of the produce. The Commissioners could not
trace the origin of the custom, owing to its antiquity.
There seems to be evidence that the Britons, and after
them the Romans, worked the iron-mines of the Forest ;
but there is no evidence to show whether or not they worked
the coal. At the time of the Norman Conquest the soil
was in the possession of the Crown, and all the rights of
a Royal Forest were in force. The persons by whom the
mines were then worked were probably in a state of
servitude, and therefore the " Free Miners," a term
which had been in use for centuries, must have derived
their right from some subsequent privilege. It has been
supposed that the privilege originated in some such way
as this : — That after a man had worked for a year and a
day, or some other defined period, in the mines be was
awarded the privilege of digging on his own account,
provided he gave a portion of the produce to the
Sovereign. The royal power was sometimes delegated.
The manner in which a Free Miner exercised his right
was exceedingly remarkable. He claimed the right to
demand of the king's gaveller a " gale," that is, a spot
of ground chosen by himself for sinking a mine ; and
this, provided it did not interfere with the works of any

!843.] RIGHTS IN DEAN FOREST.

other mine, the gaveller considered himself obliged to
give on receiving a fee of five shillings and on inserting
the name of the Free Miner in the gale book. The right
to the gale was considered by the Free Miners to carry with
it that of the timber for their works, but this extended
no further than to the use of the offal and soft wood, on
application to the keeper of a walk in which a mine is
situated.

When the Commissioners came to their inquiry they
found "foreigners" as well as Free Miners in possession,
the evidence about these being very conflicting. Some
witnesses alleged that none but Free Miners could hold
a mine either by transfer, consent, or partnership ; whilst
others maintained that a mine being originally galed to a
Free Miner might be sold, leased, devised, or passed by de-
scent to an outsider. The outsiders, nevertheless, entered
into these mining speculations in a very extensive degree,
having up to 1835 invested £700,000, of which £200,000
were invested by one individual alone. To reconcile these
conflicting interests was the object of the appointment
of the Commission of 1838, and the general system
adopted has been a gradual transition from the antiquated
practice of past centuries to the more efficient modes of
working adopted everywhere else, with such protection
to existing rights both to the Free Miners and the
" foreigners " as could best be awarded.

In addition to the above labours Mr. Sopwith published
a careful little treatise on the Museum of Economic
Geology established in 1837. This treatise was con-
sidered of great practical service in advancing the forma-
tion of geological museums, and may be said to have
given a good start to those who have since been engaged
in the work of geological classification and arrangement.
It was often suggested that Mr. Sopwith's treatise should

202 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1843.

be enlarged and republished in a more extended and
authoritative form, with new and original chapters on a
subject of which he was so good a teacher — mining
in relation to geology. His many other engagements
prevented the realization of this useful and practical
suggestion.

In the middle of August Mr. Sopwith went to London,
and received from Mr. Fearon his instructions for the
visit to Belgium, whence he proceeded to examine the
districts lying between the Sarnbre and the Meuse, with
reference to their mineral capabilities, and especially on
the bearing of such capabilities on the prosperity of a
new railway, or rather series of railways, in that part of
Belgium. He left London the last day of August for
Antwerp, and was occupied about two months in Belgium,
returning home on the 21st of October. The results of
his work, in which he was associated with Mr. Cubitt,
were embodied in a voluminous " Rapport sur le projet
du Chemin de Fer a etablir dans l'entre Sambre-et-
Meuse, ainsi que sur la statistique minerale et commerciale
des contrees qu'il doit traverser." In this report every
detail required seems to have been given. He was most
cordially received on all sides, and had several private
audiences of King Leopold, whose skill and forethought
as a politician in regal command have always been acknow-
ledged on all sides, but whose interest in scientific research
as applied to e very-day life has not been generally
recognised. Speaking of one of his interviews with the
king, Mr. Sopwith says : —

" The pensive and serious expression of countenance which
is well pourtrayed in many published likenesses of King
Leopold strongly resembles the grave aspect for which Sir

1 843.] A VISIT TO BELGIUM. 203

Walter Scott was remarkable when silent; but, like that
justly celebrated writer, no sooner does he enter into conversa-
tion than his face is brightened by great animation and an
expression strongly indicative of cheerfulness and benevolence."

Writing on September 10th he says : —

" I have now had a survey of the entire length and breadth
of the district of the Sambre and the Meuse intersected by
the proposed railway. Captain Pernez's (one of the officials)
time being limited, we have worked very hard, and on Friday
I was much fatigued, but I feel no ill effects from the journey
and was never in better health or spirits.

" I coidd have wished for more time on the line, but as
I shall probably have to go over part of it again with Mr.
Cubitt, or visit portions of it, it is well that I am enabled at
once to sit down to my Report over the documents, plans, and
sections. This I shall do at Charleroi.

" There seems every prospect of my accomplishing my survey
to the satisfaction of all parties, and so far as scenery, society,
fine weather, and good eating and drinking are concerned,
I never spent a pleasanter week in my life. Indeed each day
has unfolded new beauties, and every object has the charm of
novelty.

" The idea that comfort is known only in England is a
delusion, and hence I have been more prolific in illustration
of the reverse as regards what I have myself observed.

" The roast beef of ' Old England ' is another fallacy, for
they cook beef and all other meats in so savoury and palat-
able a manner, that if roast beef had been waiting I do not
think I would have preferred it to the dishes provided. 80
far everything has been most satisfactory to me. I like the
general character of the people very much."

As a matter of course Waterloo was visited, and was
described in a letter dated September 17th, 1843.

204 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1843.

Visit to Waterloo.

" I write this at the base of the Belgic Mound, on the
plains of Waterloo. A most lovely clay. I have just descended
from the very summit of the mound, which is 200 feet high,
and 509 paces round. It commands a most perfect view of the
field of battle. I had an excellent large map showing the
disposition of the forces, — but I must continue my letter when
more at leisure.

"Resumed on September 18th, 1843.

"September 11th. — I rose at half -past four, and left
Charleroi at half -past five, in a cabriolet. At this early hour
the shops were open. I was accompanied by Master Gustav
le Bon, who speaks a little English. We travelled along on
the paved road at a rate of about five miles an hour, and at
Lodiuilsart passed a coal waggon with eleven horses, i.e., eight
pairs and three leaders.

" The morning tints were exquisitely beautiful, and they
lighted a district remarkable for its agricultural beauty, as
well as for the vast number of mines and manufacturing
establishments. The suburbs of Charleroi and adjacent
villages extend for some three or four miles like a continuous
street ; the houses are well built, and the people generally well
and always comfortably dressed. Reached Pont-a-Mellet, six
miles, in an hour and twenty minutes, but part of the way
was up hill ; Frame, nine miles, in two hours, i.e., four and a
half miles an hour.

" My friend is nephew of Baron le Bon. One of his uncles
was killed at Waterloo ; and his father also served both
there and at Salamanca. We had breakfast at Gemappe, the
town where Bonaparte's carriage was taken. The charge for
coffee, eggs, etc., was sevenpence halfpenny each. We went
to see the interior of a handsome but unfinished church .
Gustav asked me if I was a ' fervent Protestant.' I said not so
strict as many in England, and especially in Scotland ; and
great was his surprise to learn in how strict a manner the
Sunday is observed, — shops closed, no music, no travelling, etc.

i843-] THE FIELD OF WATERLOO. 205

' Oh la, la, la, la,' he exclaimed, ' so, so, so, so, — it is un-
supportable.'

" At eight o'clock we reached Quatre Bras, and I made a
drawing of the farmhouse. After resting a short time, we
proceeded very pleasantly on our journey.

" I can scarcely describe my emotions of delight and of deep
feeling when I viewed for the first time the Field of Waterloo.
I sat down and made a coloured sketch to keep as a memento.
I had excellent maps, and traced every spot, every line; the
place where Bonaparte slept, and stood, and pitched his
observatory. Here was General Cooke's division, there General
Clinton's ; here fell Sir William Ponsonby, and there the brave
Sir Thomas Picton met his death.

" We pass La Belle Alliance and reach La Haye Sainte,
thus immortalised : —

" ' La Haye ! bear witness,— sacred is its height,
And sacred truly is it from that day,
For never braver blood was spent in fight
Than Britain here has mingled with the clay.
Set where thou wilt thy foot, thou scarce can tread
Here on a spot unhallowed by the dead.
Here was it that the Highlanders withstood
The tide of hostile power, received its weight
With resolute strength, and turned and stemmed the flood.

" We passed the very spot where Wellington stood at the
commencement of the action, and on reaching the base of the
mound I found four friends, Mr. and Mrs. Piddington, with
Elizabeth and Pose, who had just arrived, although no par-
ticular arrangement had been made. We ascended the mount.
This artificial hill, surmounted by a lion on a pedestal, is said
to have cost £ 160,000 ; it stands on nearly level ground, and is,
including the lion, two hundred feet high. From it I viewed
the field, having before me a good map, and a description of
the battle.

" It was a view of views, and a day of days gloriously
bright and clear. We had a dejeuner at Mount St. Jean, and

206 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1843.

then drove to the village and church of Waterloo, nearly two
miles from the field."

The remainder of this visit to Belgium was devoted
to inspections for the report on Belgian railways then in
preparation, and affords no incidents calling for particular
notice. After completing his preliminary surveys, Mr.
Sopwith returned to Newcastle for the rest of the year.

One sad event is recorded in the journal of this year,
namely, that on August 10th at Lancaster, where he was
giving evidence at a trial in company with Mr. John
Buddie, he saw that gentleman for the last time. Mr.
Buddie died somewhat unexpectedly, and the news of his
death was a cause of deep regret. Amongst all his list
of friends I think there is not one towards whom Mr.
Sopwith has expressed a more sincere admiration and
regard than towards this distinguished and original
engineer, companion, and tried friend.

CHAPTER XXI.

SOME ENGINEERING CELEBRITIES. ROWLAND HILL.
RAIL WA YS IN BR USSELS. KING LEOPOLD. GEOR GE
STEPHENSON. WEST FLANDERS.

1844-45.

|N January 11th, 1844, a meeting of the Health
of Towns Commission was held in Newcastle,
over which Commission Mr. Sopwith was
appointed Chairman of the first or A Com-
mittee. In this capacity he drew up the Report apper-
taining to the construction of dwellings, and assisted in
some of the other departments. At this point of his
diary I find mention made of several names which have,
to some little extent, passed out of memory, but which
deserve the brief note he has made respecting them. I
refer to Messrs. Donkin, Cubitt, Walker, Fearon, Cheney,
Milne, Baxendale, and Sir Henry de la Beche. Of them
he writes under date of February 20th :—

" Mr. Donkin was a man of unusual activity and energy in
his profession as a solicitor, and occupied a very influential
position in Newcastle, where for several years I had the
happiness to have his friendship and frequent society. This
warm and generous friendship ended only with his death.

"Mr. Cubitt (afterwards Sir William Cubitt) was, at the time
now referred to (1844), taking a high rank in his profession as
an engineer. He removed from the small house in Parliament
Street to a much more commodious and elegant mansion in

208 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1844-45.

Great George Street, London ; and the drawing-room in which I
spent many happy hours was an engineering office. My friendly
intercourse with him was connected with important railway
and other business, and was continued as long as he was able
to exercise his professional talent. As age advanced his
memory failed him, yet in a quiet and elegant retirement at
Clapham he passed the evening of his life, and to the last
retained his great friendliness and hospitality.

" Of Sir Henry de la Beche I took occasion to make honour-
able mention in an address given to the Naturalists' Field Club
at Newcastle, when I was President of that society. He stood
in the front rank of geologists, and effected practical objects
which will be the means of perpetuating his name. He was
the sole originator of the Museum of Geology in its economic
departments.

" James Walker, many years President of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, was by virtue of that position considered as
the nominal head of the profession, and his influence both
with Government and with the profession was considerable. I
always felt honoured by his friendship and hospitality, both of
which it was my good fortune to enjoy, — the former during a
friendship of several years, and the latter on many occasions
when I visited his house.

" Of John Peter Fearon I may truly say that he was at
once one of the most able, amiable, and accomplished men I
have ever known. He was actively engaged on several of the
early railways, and I was much thrown into connection with
him on the business of English and foreign railways. At a
later period he became solicitor to the Attorney-General, and I
fear that it was intense and incessant work that at length
overcame him, and caused indisposition which closed his latter
days. In society he was most elegant in manners, most refined
in convei\sation, most effective in argument, and of unwearying
perseverance in whatever he undertook. His words were few,
but they were words of wisdom, and the excellence of his
character was reflected and continued in his amiable family.

I844-45-] CHENEY, MILNE, AND BAXENDALE. 209

There was a charm of sweetness about his home, and about his
memory is a halo of pure and holy light.

" With Mr. Robert Cheney I had the pleasure and honour
of a very friendly acquaintance, and much correspondence on
matters which resulted in a considerable augmentation of the
income of estates belonging to his family, and placed in a great
measure under his care. My last interview with him was at
Alnwick Castle, under the hospitable auspices of Algernon, the
Sailor Duke, as he was sometimes called, of Northumberland.
Cheney was a man of high accomplishments, and a skilful
painter, both in oil and water-colours, — a most agreeable and
steady friend.

" Alexander Milne was a Commissioner of Woods and
Forests, a Board with which I had much connection for nearly
twenty years. During all this time I was on terms of great
intimacy with Mr. Milne and other officers of the Department
of Woods and Forests; and to the kind confidence of his colleagues
and himself I owed the honour of being appointed Commissioner
for the Crown, under the Dean Forest Mining Act. Very fre-
quent were the occasions of my having official intercourse and
correspondence with him on Government business, and very
frequent also were the occasions when his hospitable table and
social hospitalities were available to me.

" It was at this time (February 20th, 1844) that I met Mr.
Baxendale for the first time. He was then Chairman of the
South-Eastern Railway (of which Mr. Cubitt was the Chief
Engineer), and thus a special train was readily obtainable for
our journey from London to Folkestone. We met at the
railway station, and after Mr. Cubitt had introduced me, we
all three got into the carriage appropriated for our sole use. I
may add that Mr. Baxendale was at this time also the head of
the vast mercantile carrying concern ' Pickford & Company,'
and was not unfrequently called ' Pickford ' by his friends when
in familiar conversation. He had a great deal of humour, and
rejoiced in jokes and anecdotes.

" ' Now then,' he said, ' I suppose I may say here are three

14

210 THOMAS SOPWITH, RR.S. L1844-45.

of the cleverest fellows in England ! ' ' You come from New-
castle 1 ' he said, addressing me. ' Now I am under great
obligation to a Newcastle man whose name is unknown to me
(or, 'not in my recollection '), 'but whose 'advice enabled me to
receive =£500 a-year from a small estate in Lancashire, instead
of .£80 a-year which I had previously received.' 'Was it
the Crowshaw Estate ? ' I asked. ' Yes.' ' Then I am the
man,' I replied. I had given my opinion of the value of the
property, and my valuation of £10,000 had been received by
Baxendale."

On April 25th there is a curious entry, connecting for
the last time iu his mind the old and the new mode of
travel : —

" I left the railway station at Gateshead precisely at noon.
Reached Durham in one hour and five minutes by the railway,
and went from thence at the rate of about ten miles an hour
to Southchurch near Bishop Auckland, and after this and an
omnibus ride of eleven miles, went by the Stockton and
Darlington Railway to Darlington, where a detention of about
an hour takes place, viz. from three to four. I took a place
to London, reached York in two hours, and stopped about
forty minutes. At Derby another stoppage of about an hour
occurred ; and ten minutes were allowed for refreshment at
Wolverton. As this is nearly the last stage in the transition
which has been for some years in progress, from coach to
railway travelling, it may be interesting, and perhaps useful
also, to note down a few of the particulars as regards the
important elements of time and expense.

" First, as to time. From Newcastle to London by the
above route now occupies exactly 17 hours, including all
stoppages. These are as follows : at Darlington 1 hour ; at
York 40 minutes ; at Derby 40 minutes usually, though on
this occasion it was an hour ; at Wolverton 10 minutes ; in
all 2^ hours ; so that 14^ hours only are occupied in actual
travelling, being very little more than 20 miles an hour.

i844-45-] ROWLAND HILL.

211

" Cost. The present cost of travelling from Newcastle to
London is as follows : —

First-class Railway and Omnibuses to Darlington 0 8 0
First-class Railway Darlington to London . . 3 15 0
Total, Newcastle to London . . . £1 3 0~

Another entry on May 1st of this year refers again to
the atmospheric railway, and may be useful to some
future historian.

"Breakfasted with Mr. Clegg, the inventor of the atmospheric
railway, and had a long conversation with him on the subject.
The atmospheric system is decidedly making progress, and I
have little doubt will eventually fulfil the expectations I formed
when I visited the first experiments at Shepherd's Bush. It
may at some future period be interesting to know that Mr.
Clegg recognises, and recommends as the best recent description
of the atmospheric railway, an article in the sixteenth volume
of the British and Foreign Review; or, European Quarterly
Journal, page 304 (published April 1844)."

On May 3rd we are introduced to Rowland Hill of
postal fame.

"I went this evening to dine with my valued friend Mr.
Rowland Hill, the celebrated originator of the Penny Postage
System. There was a small but very agreeable party, and
among them were Mr. Shuttleworth, of the Stamp Office,
Manchester, and Mr. Chadwick, Secretary to the Poor Law
Commission. Mr. Hill is very quiet and unobtrusive in his
manners generally, but, as may be imagined from what he has
done, is extremely shrewd and intelligent."

One or two other personal entries deserve insertion.

" May Qth.—I had luncheon and a long conversation with
Mr. Robert Stephenson this morning. He is as agreeable
and communicative as he is clever, and his society is always

212 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1844-45.

a great treat to me. He gave me the outline of his views
on the atmospheric railway, his report on which is now in
the press, and he promised to send me a copy of it as soon as
it is completed.

"At Mr. Fearon's I was introduced to Mr. Anderson, who,
it had been proposed, should proceed to Belgium to conduct the
final negotiations with the Government respecting the Sambre
and Meuse Railway."

" May 7th. — Called at Mr. R. Stephenson's office, and had
some conversation with Mr. George Stephenson, who wishes
Dr. Buckland to join me in a visit to him at his house near
Chesterfield. He is looking remarkably well, is very animated,
and displays great kindness of manner in those directions
where he has formed a favourable opinion. On the other
hand he is said to be equally unbending under opposite circum-
stances. Be this as it may, he is unquestionably a man of
extraordinary powers of mind, and to his vigorous exertions
it is that we owe in a great measure the introduction of
railway travelling on a large scale. However idly the world
may dream of conquerors and heroes, few men at any period
of known history have conferred greater benefits on their
fellow-creatures than the originators of locomotive travelling
and cheap postage, — the one almost annihilating time and
space in bringing together persons from distant parts on
business, or for friendly intercourse, and the other enabling
every class of society to rejoice in that next of social blessings,
frequent correspondence."

On May 26th Mr. Sopwith is again in Belgium, when
he had an audience with King Leopold, which he thus
records : —

" Mr. Anderson and I were shown into a large room, with
some good paintings. Presently two aides-de-camp in full
dress, with stars, etc., came, and very politely explained that
the King had not yet returned from church, but was expected

1 844-45.] KING LEOPOLD. 213

very soon. In a few minutes His Majesty and suite arrived ;
he bowed as he passed, arid we were shown into an adjoining
apartment ; the aides-de-camp retiring, we were left alone
with the King, who wore a dark-blue military dress, gold
epaulettes, a profusion of orders, and a handsome sword.

" After the usual complimentary bowing, the King observed
that he understood we intended to be interested in some
occupation in this country. I replied that the information
which Mr. Cubitt and I had obtained in our former surveys
had inspired with confidence parties who were disposed to
execute extensive works, and that Mr. Anderson and I, repre-
senting these parties, were pursuing the requisite negotiations.
Mr. Anderson said that great assistance and facility had been
given by the Minister of Public Works, whose consideration
and talents were of great value. In this commendation the
King very heartily joined, and said : ' Although the Sambre
and Meuse Railway is not so great as many of your vast
English works, yet in my opinion it is a very solid and useful
one, and the calculation of its trade has been derived from
the actual experience of many years.'

" I replied, ' That, your Majesty, is precisely the opinion
that has been formed — viz., that if it hold out less brilliant
prospects than many new undertakings, yet it is more surely
based, and is certain to be of great public utility.'

" Mr. Anderson said it would be highly satisfactory to the
parties in London to know that His Majesty entertained this
opinion. The King entered at considerable length into details
connected with the subject, as the extension to Sedan, the
difficult navigation of the Meuse, etc., observing that though
its scenery was very magnificent, yet, what with floods in
winter, and shallow water in summer, it was very bad to
navigate.

" I observed that the district of the Sambre and Meuse was
the very heart of Belgium, containing in vast abundance
those minerals which constitute the foundations of national
wealth ; that in a small compass there were coal, iron, marble,

2i4 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1844-45.

slate, and yet a great part of this district was unopened, nay,
almost inaccessible.

"Referring to the exports of coal to the Ardennes, His
Majesty observed that this railway was the only mode by
which they could obtain an increased supply. He also re-
ferred to the marbles of Dinant, and was pleased to hear that
I had visited the manufactory there, and at Eame. I said
that I had placed specimens of these marbles in the Museum
of Economic Geology in London, and I presented to His
Majesty my account of that Institution (having previously
requested permission to do so in writing). He accepted it
with great complaisance, saying, ' I am greatly obliged, I
am grateful ; it is a very interesting subject, and one that I
am very fond of.' Looking at the section on the back, he
added, ' There are very interesting sections like this as you
travel on the railway towards Charleroi.' I informed His
Majesty that I had seen them, and that the section on the
book represented coal mines belonging to the Prince of Wales,
and which I had surveyed on behalf of the Duchy of Cornwall.
He turned over the leaves, and when he came to the litho-
graphed plate of models, I said that they represented models
which I had made of wood to represent the principal geological
features that relate to mining, and that I had given a series
of them to the Museum in Brussels. ' It is very kind of you,'
said the King. I added that I would feel greatly honoured
if His Majesty would allow me also to present a series to him.
To this a very kind assent was at once given. I said
that the undertaking of foreign enterprise, and consequent
investment of capital, the interchange of scientific research,
and the development of the natural sources of wealth, afforded
a solid prospect with reference to the peace of nations, and
the increase of their prosperity. His Majesty assented very
fully to these remarks, and expressed similar sentiments.

" These are some of the subjects, which I have made mention
of as likely to recall distinct impressions of a very agreeable
interview. Mr. Anderson joined from time to time in the

I 844-45.]

RAPID LOCOMOTION.

215

conversation. Nothing could be more affable and winning than
the courtesy and kindness of His Majesty, and we took our leave
with the most agreeable sentiments of respect and regard."

On June 19th a new railway triumph is entered.

" On this day, for the first time, the whole railway journey
from London to Newcastle was opened to the public.

" I left Euston Square Station with Elizabeth Piddington
by the 9 o'clock train, and reached Gateshead, Newcastle, at
9.30 p.m., this being the first journey performed by a train
for the conveyance of the public from London to Newcastle
in 12| hours.

" As it may be interesting at some future time to refer to
the details of this step in the rapid march of locomotive
travelling, I annex them from memoranda made during the
journey.

" The day was remarkably favourable for the journey."

Trav

BIAING.

Stoppages.

Hours
9

Min.

3

Hours

Min.

Hours

Min.

Left London

Arrived Tring

10

10

1

7

Departed Do.

11

1

Arrived Wolverton .

50

39

Departed Do.

56

6

Arrived Rugby .

11

58

1

2

Departed Do. .

12

82

10'

Arrived Leicester

421

34

lu2

Departed Do.

482

5A

Stoppage, 34 miles

2
14

Arrived Derby .

1

41

5U

XT

Departed Do.

2

20±

'4

391

Arrived Chesterfield .

3

391

Departed Do.

4

4

Arrived Masbro'

3

29£

25^

Departed Do. .

35

5i

Arrived Barnsley .

4

25

fi

Do. Normanton

16 \

16*

Departed Do.

22

5i

Arrived Castleford .

30

8

v2

Departed Do.

30*

1
2

2l6

THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1844-45.

Travelling.

Stoppages.

Hours.

Miu.

Sours.

Min.

Sours.

Min.

Arrived Bolton and Tadcaster .

53 a

23

_

_

Departed Do.

Arrived York .....

5

54

—

13i

—

1
2

Departed Do.
Arrived Alne

6

57

15

—

18

—

491

Departed Do.
Arrived Sessay
Departed Do.
Arrived Thirsk

—

19
32|
33i
41

—

13|

7#

—

4

1
2

Departed Do.
Arrived Northa

llert

311

—

43
57

—

14

—

2

Departed Do.

7

2

— —

—

5

Arrived Cowton

—

15i

— 13|

—

—

Departed Do.
Arrived Darlington

—

17
32

—

15

—

11

Departed Do.

—

41

—

—

—

9

Arrived Rudd's Hill

8

10

—

29

—

—

Departed Do.
Arrived Belmont

—

12
30

—

18

—

2

Departed Do.
Arrived Brockley
Departed Do.
Arrived Gateshead

9

38

5

11

30

9

27
19
39J

2

8
6

Total . .

47|

DISTANCES.

Hrs.
83 miles in 2
1
1

Min.

48

25

46i

44J

22

33

London to Rugby

Midland Counties . . .49

North Midland .... 64

York, and N. Midland . . 24 „ „ 0

To Darlington . . . . 45 „ „ 1

To Newcastle (G. Station) . 38* „ „ 1

In August he had a visit from Mr. and Mrs. William
Chambers of Edinburgh ; and in September he was
engaged in surveys with Brunei, in Northumberland.
On September 7th lie and Brunei went into the coffee-
room of the Queen's Head Inn, Newcastle, and en-
countered Mr. George Sterjhenson, who good-naturedly
shook Mr. Brunei by the collar, asking him what business
he had " north of the Tyne." Mr. Stephenson had been

1 844-45.] GEORGE STEPHENSON. 217

for some time engaged in projecting a railway through
Northumberland, to which the railway of Mr. Brunei
was in direct opposition. Brunei, like Mr. Sopwith, was
sanguine as to the final success of the atmospheric
railway at some future day.

1845.

The year 1845 brought with it a great amount of
work to my friend, who was in Newcastle, London, and
Edinburgh , as if they were all his natural home. There is ,
however, but little matter of moment until March 8th, on
the evening of which day he went to a meeting at Lord
Northampton's, by whom he was introduced to Prince
Albert, "a fine-looking man, with handsome face and
good figure." The Prince, who was very pleased to make
his acquaintance, spoke to him warmly of the geological
models, the surveys of the Duchy of Cornwall which
Mr. Sopwith had made for the Crown, and the interest
which the King of the Belgians was taking in the
mineral wealth of his kingdom.

On March 19th, in company with Mr. George Stephenson,
Mr. Fearon, Mr. Piddington, and Mr. Benjamin Scott,
Mr. Sopwith again left for Brussels on another railway
survey. The journey all through was rendered very
pleasant, especially by George Stephenson, about whom,
on March 30th and April 4th and 5th, there are special
entries.

" March 30th. — I may here observe that during our journey,
and especially when resting in the evening at the hotels, I
derived a large share of instruction and enjoyment from the
society of my fellow-travellers. One of these, known in all
countries, and to be known in all time as foremost in that
march of improvement which has so eminently marked the
present century, has long been known to me by occasional

2i8 THOMAS SOPJVITH, F.R.S. [1844-45.

but brief opportunities of intercourse. The present journey
has afforded an opportunity of becoming more intimately
known to him, and of participating in that store of practical
information, quick observation, and mental energy, by which
Mr. Stephenson has climbed from a humble origin to the
elevated position he now occupies.

" It is most interesting to hear him relate the anecdotes of
his youth. They are chapters pregnant with instruction and
encouragement. Commencing at so early an age as three years,
his memory reverts back to a bird-nesting scene. He was
carried to see a nest, and the impression caused by the little
helpless inmates fluttering about induced an affection for birds
which ripened with age, and has ever since remained. At one
time he ploughed for twopence a day and breakfast ; at another
was toiling for twelve hours in an engine-house ; then occupying
his evenings with repairing clocks and watches, and so gaining
money which he applied to the education of his son, the present
distinguished engineer.

" Thirty -three years ago he constructed the first efficient loco-
motive engine that had been made, and afterwards followed
step by step in the construction of the first great railways in
the kingdom. His graphic descriptions of many of these and
similar incidents are so full of character, so plain, honest, and
unassuming, and at the same time so marked by all the
energy of true genius, that I rejoice here to record some faint
memorial of them that may recall to mind the pleasant hours
passed with this truly great man in the present expedition.

" It is most amusing to hear of his labouring to convince
his fellow-workmen in early years that the world turned
round, they arguing that at the bottom they would fall off !
' Ah ! ' said their more inquiring companion, ' you don't
understand it.'

" Guided by a practical knowledge of geological structure,
Mr. Stephenson purchased an estate containing valuable beds
of coal, and in short his whole life has been so great an
example of the value of practical application of science, that

1 844.45.] GEORGE STEPHENSON. 219

it is to be hoped he may some time employ his leisure in
drawing up an autobiography, which would be of most surpass-
ing interest, and would form the best memorial of his progress.
" Mr. Starbuck, who accompanies Mr. Stephenson, is largely
concerned in the management of business relating to locomotive
engines, etc. He has travelled much in various parts of the
world, speaks French with great facility, and his society added
much to the pleasure of a journey where our enjoyment,
though heightened by external conditions of weather, scenery,
etc., was chiefly derived from interchange of thought and
cheerful conversation."

Dinner to George Stephenson.

" April ith. — We returned to Brussels, and at four in the
afternoon accompanied Mr. Stephenson to a magnificent dinner
which was given to him by the engineers of Belgium, at one
of the principal restaurants in Brussels.

" The room was magnificently decorated ; at one end of it
were a number of flags surmounted by the Union Jack (six
Belgian flags and five English). These surrounded a handsome
marble pedestal with the bust of Mr. Stephenson crowned with
laurels.

" The table was covered with luxuriant viands, and in the
centre was an archway with a locomotive engine (The Rochet).
Mr. Masni, the chief director of the Belgian railways, presided.
Mr. Stephenson sat on his right hand, and I was placed on his
left. About forty gentlemen were present, all of whom were
connected with railway management. Nothing could exceed
the enthusiasm with which they all joined in giving a welcome
to the distinguished father of English engineering."

" April 5th. — Mr. Stephenson and I went to the Palace of
Lacken, where we had the honour of a private audience with
His Majesty the King of the Belgians. As on two former
occasions when I have been in the presence of His Majesty, he
stood during the whole of the interview, and conversed very
freely on several topics. He thanked me for the models I had

THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1844-45.

sent him, and said I must have devoted much time to these
subjects. When we took our leave his Majesty shook hands
with both, and said to me, 'I wish you success in all your
undertakings.'

"Throughout the interview he displayed a complete know-
ledge of the general structure of the Belgian coal-fields, and
spoke of the great importance of economy in a fuel which
had become indispensable, and which formed the basis of all
our manufactures, locomotion, and domestic comfort.

"In the evening we went to Ghent, accompanied by Mr.
Masni, and had a carriage appropriated to us.

" We examined the works at the new station at Brussels."
" April QtJi. — We left Ghent in the private railway carriage
of Mons. Masni, the head director of State railways in Belgium.
Breakfasted at Ostend, and left at ten in the Widgeon steam
packet, and reached Dover at six, just in time to catch a train
to London, where we arrived at eleven, thus completing the
journey from Ghent to London in seventeen hours, nearly half
of which were spent on the sea."

A fortnight later he is once more in Belgium.

" April ISth. — Interview with the Minister of Public Works,
Mons. Deschamps, on the subject of negotiations for the
West Flanders railways. I was occupied the whole day in an
attentive study of this project ; and not approving of the lines
suggested in the several plans I have examined, I drew up
a new arrangement which appears to me to possess several
very important advantages, namely, by occupying nearly the
whole of the province of West Flanders with lines accommodating
the important towns of Bruges, Roulers, Courtrai, Menin,
Ypres, and Poperinghe in one line, and Furnes, Dixmude, and
Thielt in another.

" These lines I have studied with reference to future
extension, as well as local convenience, and in the evening I
had the satisfaction to find that the Minister referred to this
map only during an interview which lasted three hours, and

1 844-45.] RAILWAYS IN WEST FLANDERS. 221

during part of which time he explained and advocated it to
the deputation from Bruges, headed by the Governor of West
Flanders \ and upon this map the convention is founded, all
the terms of which were fully discussed on the following
day."

" April 21st. — Accompanied Mr. Chantrell to the office of
the Minister of Public Works, where the convention for the
West Flanders Railway was formally completed, and signed by
the Minister, myself, and Mr. Chantrell, my signature being
on behalf of William Parry Richards and John Peter Fearon,
from whom I held a power of attorney to conduct and close
this important step towards the establishment of railway
communication throughout the province of West Flanders.

" Immediately after receiving from the hands of the Minister
the official duplicate of the convention, I left Brussels, and
reached Ghent at two in the afternoon, accompanied by young
Chantrell.

"Left in the railway diligence and went to Bruges. A
carriage-and-pair was in waiting at the station, and I at once
started in it for Thourout and Roulers."

" April 22nd. — Left Roulers at five in the morning, and
reached Courtrai at half -past seven. After breakfast started
with a fresh pair of horses to visit Menin and Ypres.

" We returned to Courtrai to dinner, and afterwards pro-
ceeded to Ingelmunster and Bruges, where we arrived at
half-past nine."

" April 23rd. — Left Bruges at eight o'clock, and went by
railway to Ostend, and had a delightful sail across to Dover."

In the early part of May Mr. Sopwith revisited Loudon
on business connected with the Newcastle, Berwick, and
Northumberland Railway Bills, together with other busi-
ness relating to the Woods and Forests Committee. These
occupations left him but little leisure, concerning which,
however, he makes no complaint, but rather rejoices that
his time should be so well occupied. During this visit,

222 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1844-45.

moreover, he was gratified by attaining a distinction which,
he had all his active life most wished for. On June 5th
he was elected, and on the 18th was received, as a Fellow
of the Royal Society. The reception of this distinction is
recorded in a brief paragraph of the diary.

"June \§th. — Went to the Royal Society at Somerset House,
Professor Owen in the chair (in the absence of the Presi-
dent, the Marquis of Northampton) ; and went through the
formality of being admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society. If
this, under any circumstances, be deemed an honour, I think
it is still more so when brought about — as my admission has
been — by direct invitation and persuasion of the President,
and by the unasked-for suffrages of so many eminent Fellows.
That kind influence was used by friends I have no doubt, but I
entirely abstained from asking any one to vote for me."

Whilst Mr. Sopwith's numerous friends were con-
gratulating him on having so honourably won what
has been called the " blue ribbon " in science, an event
leading to a new phase in the history of his active life
was near at hand, as will be told in the succeeding
chapter.

CHAPTER XXII.

A CHANGE OF CAREER.
1845-46.

&N July 1845 we enter into a new phase in the
life of Mr. Sopwith. Up to this time he
had been acting entirely on his own account
in business, chiefly as an engineer and rail-
way surveyor; but some little time before the date
named a communication had been made to him by Mr.
Hodgson, for whom he had the greatest respect, that
he should become chief agent of Mr. T. W. Beaumont's
lead-mines in Northumberland and Durham. The change
meant his removal from Newcastle to Allenheads, dis-
connection from his large circle of miscellaneous clients
in engineering and mining, and occupation for three-
fourths of his time.

It was a serious question amongst his friends whether
this new arrangement was or was not a prudent one, and
much difference of opinion was expressed on the matter.
In a retrospect which he made thirty-one years later in
his life, he himself reviews the matter, adding a few
reminiscences which are worth repeating as a good in-
dication of the simple and genuine nature of the writer.

" First, and very far indeed beyond all other considerations,
were thole which related to the comfort of my family and my

224 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1845-46.

enjoyment at home. This indeed so far exceeded all other
views as to leave me no option, and on this I shall add a few
words of comment, — the result of actual experience and of
frequent and long-continued reflection.

" It was quite true that at the time the proposition was made
to me to take the agency of the Beaumont mines I had gained
what I may fairly call a good position in my profession. I
had conducted very extensive surveys, both on the surface and
under ground, at Alston in Cumberland ; and over a large
portion of land in the centre of Northumberland. I had in
1829 successfully competed with McAdam, then in the zenith
of his fame as a road engineer; and my line, after being
approved by a majority of forty to one by the local trustees,
received the assent of Parliament in 1830. Fifteen years of
active employment followed, and my engagements assumed
more and more of a public character, and of what may be
called professional eminence.

"In 1832 I made the greatly valued acquisition of the
friendship of Surtees, in addition to that of Hodgson and
Hedley — names ever to be treasured amongst my richest
memories. The generous friendship of William Ord, Esq., of
Whitfield, and the equally warm and kind friendship of Sir
John Swinburne, added much to my happiness.

" In 1832 I was elected a member of the Institution of Civil
Engineers, on the special volunteer offer of proposal of Telford ;
and in that year I was much employed and consulted by the
Commissioners of Woods and Forests. At this time my
' Account of Mining Districts ' and ' Isometrical Treatise '
were favourably received ; and the latter work, though very
technical, passed into a second edition.

" In 1833 I laid out and surveyed a line of colliery railway
from Jesmond, near Newcastle, to St. Laurence on the river
Tyne ; and in 1835 I had made surveys of part of the Newcastle
and Carlisle Railway from near Corbridge to near Hexham
and Haydon Bridge. I had in 1845 been much employed in
surveying and setting out lines of railway in England and

1845-46.] ^- CHANGE OF CAREER. 225

on the Continent, and had a fair prospect of success in that
very lucrative department of civil engineering. I had entirely
accomplished a most important mineral survey of the Forest
of Dean ; and my large models of that, and other districts, had
not only heen much admired at the British Association meeting
at Newcastle, hut had won the honour of a Telford Medal at
the Institution of Civil Engineers.

" Most unexpectedly, and entirely unsought for by me, I was
asked by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests to take the
high position of Commissioner on behalf of the Crown in the
Dean Forest Mining Act, and in three years the duties of that
Commission were brought to a satisfactory close.

" In 1844 the Coal Trade Committee of the North of England
appointed a special committee of the most eminent members
of their body to settle all disputes relating to the coal trade ;
and they further appointed a « tribunal of appeal,' with the
absolute power of final decision, viz. Messrs. John Grey, John
Clayton, and myself.

" These appointments and employments were in the highest
range of services connected with coal-mine engineering.

" In railway engineering I was among the very first who
were largely employed in extensive and profitable surveys;
and in lead mining, the position of Chief Agent of all the
three districts of mines in Coalcleugh, Allendale, and Weardale
was undoubtedly the first position open to a professional man.
The offer of it to me was at all events a great honour, and
my acceptance of it was based on considerations such as the

following : —

" My professional avocations took me very frequently from
home, sometimes for weeks, and even months. This separated
me from my family, and it seemed likely that continued
success in general practice would ere long render it necessary
for me to remove my offices to London.

" To constant residence in the Metropolis my dear Jane had
a great objection, on the score of health and domestic enjoy-
ment. Upon this I made my determination. I was assiu-ed

15

226 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1845-46.

that a new house should be built for me, with gardens, and
open space of pleasure grounds for my children to play in.

" The prospect of comfort in the exercise of my duties at
home, the reasonable prospect of quietude in the evening of
life, was pressed on my attention. All this I now look upon
as past. Twenty-six years have since been spent in active
service, and for other five years I have had the quietude of
retirement."

The duties of the chief agent of the Allenhead mines
commenced on July 1st, 1845, but before settling down
to them certain other matters of business had to be
cleared up. One of these was the giving of evidence at
Cardiff on the trial of Lord Dunraven versus Mr. Malins,
for breach of covenant in working his mines. Cockburn,
afterwards Chief Justice of England, was the opposing
counsel, and with Mr. Frank Forster, a colleague of
Mr. Sopwith's, was "exceedingly sharp." Mr. Sopwith's
own examination followed, and he got off lightly.

" ' You are paid for coming here, are you not % ' said Counsel
Cockburn. I said I had not yet been paid, but hoped to be so.
— 'Ah ! ' said C, ' what I mean is, you would not have come
here without being paid ! ' I answered that I had done more
romantic things than that in my lifetime. My examination
now set in with the same aspect as in Forster's case, and to an
early question I was pertly told to answer ' Yes ' or ' No.' I
answered ' Yes ; ' but I added, ' Unless I explain exactly what
I mean by that answer, it may lead the jury to form an
erroneous conclusion.' My keen interrogator would have
gladly dispensed with any explanation, but the judge ruled
that I might explain my answer, a decision gladly acquiesced in
by the jury. I explained the matter in my own way, and
when I finished, I was told I might go down ! "

After some further delays in surveying Plymouth Iron

I845-46-] T0 ALLENHEADS. 227

Works, and in visiting Edinburgh on matters connected
with the Lead Hills arbitration, during which he was the
visitor of Mr. Robert Chambers, he entered formally on
his duties at the W. B. Lead-mines, so called from the
initials of a former owner, William Blackett, the produce
of whose mines was specially well known in the markets
of England, the Continent, and elsewhere as W. B., or
sometimes as Blackett Lead. The commencement of
this new career is recorded in the subjoined entries.

" To Allenheads.

" August 25th.— I left Newcastle at five o'clock in the after-
noon, and, accompanied by Mr. Delemaine, went to Bywell
Hall, and dined with Mr. J. G. Atkinson."

"August 26*A.-Went with Mr. Atkinson to Allenheads,
calling at Allen Smelt Mills by the way. I had a meeting
with Mr W. Crawhall in the house he has so long occupied m
his capacity as resident agent of Allenhead Mines; and a walk
over the premises was a kind of formality approaching to the
givin* up of possession, but not quite so, as I most readily
assented to his remaining a few days longer, on his expressing

a wish to do so.

« The books of account and plans were handed over to me
in the office, when I was made acquainted with the assistants
and clerks, and may thus be considered as having been formally
installed into so much of my appointment as relates to East
and West Allendale, formerly, and up to even recently, m two
separate agencies, but now combined in one."

" SeptemberMth.— Accompanied the inspectors of the mines on
their quarterly examination of the several workings preparatory
to arranging the prices for new contracts. This underground
survey is of great interest, as exhibiting the state of the veins
of lead, or the condition of rocks where levels are being driven
in non-productive ground, and I made notes and drawings of
the more prominent indications."

228 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1845-46.

" September 27th.- — Among the new occupations to which my
agency at Allenheads introduces me is that of being considered
as ' the master of the hounds,' the inhabitants of Upper
Allendale having been from time immemorial, as it is said,
fond of hare-hunting as an amusement, and, owing to the
nature of the country, this amusement is more followed by
persons on foot than by horsemen ; the latter, indeed, being
few in number, and the pedestrians being quite a multitude.

" This was the first ' meet ' since I came to Allenheads, and,
mounted on an excellent pony, I followed the hounds, and, for
this day at all events, took an active share in the hunt, and
in some of the subsequent festivities, as ' master of the hounds.'
This position was willingly accorded to me, but the efficiency
and general regulation of the ' hunt ' practically devolved on
Mr. Steel, with whom it remained until it gradually succumbed
to a prevailing indifference among the community. Mr. Steel
was a pedestrian hunter, and a surprisingly active one. It
was amusing to observe his activity in ' louping ' a dyke, and
the glee with which he received the annual subscriptions."

" October ith. — At Allenheads, where I 'let the bargains,'
as it is termed, for the East Allendale Mines. This was
followed by a dinner at the inn, at which all the inspectors,
chief clerks, etc., were usually present, and at which I was
expected to preside."

" November 6th. — In London. ' Meeting at Mr. Beaumont's,
when the new house was determined upon and the scale arranged.
I dined with Mr. Beaumont.' This is the brief memorandum
as written at the time in my pocket diary. I had made the
building of a new house, with spacious garden and ornamental
ground, the sole condition on which I would accept the agency
of the W. B. Mines. All other matters, such as amount of
salary, arrangements as to time of residence, and, in short, all
other details, I was willing to leave either in the sole disposition
of Mr. Beaumont, or, at all events, as matters to be considered
and discussed, but the new house was of the very essence of
the agreement."

1845-46.] ST. PAUL'S, KNIGHTSBRIDGE. 229

In December Mr. Sopwith visited Paris for the first
time; but seems to have been less interested in that
remarkable city than one would have expected. He
returned to Allenheads to close the year, a year which he
always re-snrveyed with great satisfaction.

1846.

In January 1846, during a visit to London, he makes a
note on certain reflections which occurred to him after a
conversation with his friend Mr. Hodgson, at The Elms,
Hampstead. He is satisfied, from the experience of his
past life, that a plain and honest and straightforward
path is the only one that can lead to permanent comfort
and prosperity. To overcome all influence of prejudice
and passion, to rise superior to the mere consideration of
selfish interests, to look with charity and forbearance on
whatever calls for indulgence, and to promote kindly
feelings and generous sentiments, — these are objects
worthy of daily perseverance, and productive of peace
and happiness in the midst of all the career of business
and the various and often deceptive fascinations of society.
It has been truly gratifying, he adds, to find in Mr. Beau-
mont, and in those who immediately represent him in
his absence, an entire accordance with those sentiments,
and a desire to base every proceeding on a firm and
honourable foundation.

An entry follows anent a visit to St. Paul's, Knights-
bridge.

"February Int.— Sunday. I went to St. Paul's, Wilton
Place, where Puseyisni reigns in all its glory, and a ringer-post
' To Rome ' might be appropriately placed in its chancel. This
is the church of the noble and the great, of Lady Marys and
Lord Johns, with here and there the crimson waistcoat of a

23o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1845-46-

favoured footman. I never yet in any church found a silver
key to fail ; and as there appeared in Sunday notices on the
door something like an unusual attention to details of the
service, I was resolved to try an experiment here.

" Several pews close to where I stood had abundant room
for myself and for one other person standing in the aisle, but
neither the courtesy of the inmates nor the exertions of the
vergers were so far extended as to offer the accommodation
of a seat.

"Tired with standing, I left this goodly congregation of
fine raiment and gold rings, enjoyed a most delightful walk
in the park, had luncheon with the Dean of Westminster
(Dr. Buckland), and met Mr. Calverly Trevelyan."

In February of this year (1846) Mr. Sopwith published
a pamphlet of seventeen pages, entitled " Observations
addressed to the Miners and Other Workmen employed
in Mr. Beaumont's Lead-mines in East and West Allen-
dale and Weardale." The pamphlet opens with the
announcement of an increase of wages to the miners,
followed by a suggestion for the formation of a fund for
the relief of arrears, and by an urgent appeal in favour
of paying ready money for everything. " Let me," he
says, " most strongly and affectionately urge this on your
attention ; consider it well individually, canvass it with
your friends, weigh it in the balance. If it be found
wanting in reason, in prudence, in common sense, neglect
it ; if it appears to you to be reasonable and prudent, act
upon it ; advise your partners and your friends to act
upon it ; consider well the differences between the price
of credit and of ready-money payments. You will
assuredly find, in many cases, eightpence or ninepence
ready cash buying as much as a shilling on credit ; that
for a shilling, paid after a year or half a year's credit, you
only have got eight or nine pennyworth of goods; whereas

1845-6.] THE MARQUIS OF NORTHAMPTON. 231

if yon spend a shilling in ready money, yon get as mnch as
yon would have to pay one-and-fourpence for on credit. Do
not consider anyone's interest in this bnt yonr own." Then,
towards the close, touching on the subject of temperance,
he adds, " To everyone who has a family, I would venture
to say, Avoid the alehouse, and study the happiness of
yourself and family at your own fireside."

" February 2lst. — In the evening I attended the first soiree
of the Marquis of Northampton, at his house (adjoining Mr.
Beaumont's) in Piccadilly Terrace. This assemblage was con-
sidered to be as numerous and brilliant as any that has been
held during the Presidency of the noble Marquis. I met a
great number of highly valued friends, and by going soon after
nine I had an opportunity of examining the various drawings
and works of art and science which were exhibited. His Royal
Highness Prince Albert came soon after ten, and spent some
time in examining the various attractive objects which the
tables presented. He especially devoted some fifteen or twenty
minutes to the inspection of Parsey's air-machine, during
which time I was at the side of the table opposite to the
Prince, and had thus the opportunity of seeing and hearing all
that passed. His inquiries were all of a sensible and intelli-
gent character, expressed with great suavity and a becoming-
cheerfulness. The Premier, Sir Robert Peel, arrived about
eleven, dressed in a Windsor uniform, and appeared in good
health and spirits. The Dean of Westminster (Dr. Buckland)
introduced the Dean of Llandaff (Conybeare) to Sir Robert
Peel ; but Mr. Conybeare thought he said Sir Robert Dean,
and so the interview passed off as a mere matter-of-course
introduction to some Oxford baronet, as the Dean of Llandaff
assumed 'Sir Robert Dean' to be. These two geological
deans and the scarlet riband and glittering star of Sir
Roderick Murchison bid fair for the prospects of geology."

A note on March 6th and 7th introduces us to Faraday.

232 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1845-46.

" All the world and his wife went to hear Faraday
lecture on his new discoveries in electro-magnetism. I went an
hour too soon, and so called upon him, and spent the interval
very agreeably with the learned lecturer. The crush to hear
Faraday outdoes the opera crowd, and the noble President of
the Royal Society sits to hear the errand-boy of a few years ago
bring forth the hitherto hidden secrets of Nature.

" On my return home, I found my friend W. G. Arm-
strong, of Newcastle. On the following morning, Faraday
headed a recommendation of Mr. Armstrong to the Royal
Society, and I accoinjmnied him to Mr. John Taylor, Professor
Owen, Sir Henry de la Beche, Mr. Phillips, and the Dean of
Westminster, who all added their names to his recommendation
paper. It was well said by Faraday, ' What is the Royal
Society for if not for such men as Armstrong ? ' '

On July 14th Mr. Joseph Paxton comes on the scene.

" Dr. Buckland (now Dean of Westminster) came to my
house at St. Mary's Terrace, Newcastle, on a visit, and very
greatly did I enjoy his agreeable society.

" Much activity prevailed in Newcastle, owing to a flower-
show and a cattle-show being held this week. Returning
with some friends from the Cattle Show on Thursday evening,
they accepted my invitation to take tea at my house. The
party was a somewhat notable one, comprising the Dean of
Westminster, Sir James Duke, Mr. George Stephenson, and
Mr. Paxton (of Chatsworth). A most lively conversation
occurred ; and I was not a little proud to entertain so many
men of mark. Mr. Stephenson's humour was to call Mr.
Paxton ' the Duke,' and Sir James was now and then spoken
to by his surname of Duke. The servant hearing this, told
Mrs. S. on her arrival at home that she did not know who all
the gentlemen were, but that ' two of them were dukes,' an
array of aristocracy which was alarming in so quiet an
establishment. But no four dukes in the kingdom could have

i845-46-] COMMENCEMENT OF NEW WORK. 233

equalled the noble aristocracy of talent then assembled in my
drawing-room. These four persons represent in an eminent
degree Geology, Engineering, Commerce, and Agriculture.

" Dr. Buckland left on Friday morning from the station at
Gateshead, where he introduced me to the Duke of Cambridge,
with whom I had a short conversation."

The change of career into which Mr. Sopwith had
now fully entered led to the necessity for him to have
a fixed place of business in the metropolis, and in
November he was in possession of chambers at No. 1,
Chapel Place. In this month he brought to a close,
I think with some regret, all his business transactions
with the Office of Woods and Forests, and therewith we
may consider that his professional life as an engineer
in general practice came to an end.

On his own part he seemed soon to become reconciled
to his new career ; and as he had stipulated that a house
should be built for him at Allenheads with gardens
around it, the whole designed by himself, his constructive
genius relieved his mind from all regretful reminiscences.

CHAPTEE XXIII.

RESIDENCE AT ALLENHEADS. MR. ROBERT CHAMBERS.
DEATH OF MRS. SOP WITH. PROFESSOR FARADAY.
THE ARMSTRONG GUN.

1847-56.

jETTLED down in his new home at Allenheads,
but retaining for a time the house at St.
Mary's Terrace, Newcastle, and moving his
chambers in London to Chapel Place, the
life of Mr. Sopwith became, in his new sphere of
work, very regular, and free of much of the previous
rapid movement and excitement to which he had been
accustomed. We find him, however, often coming up
to London; and in 1847 there are records of a very
interesting visit in town, with Mr. Robert Chambers
and other friends as agreeable companions. So the
year 1847 smoothly glided away.

1848.
In 1848 one or two little episodes are related : one of
an adventure on February 16th with Mr. W. G. Arm-
strong and himself in a mine at Allenheads, where the two
narrowly escaped being pounded into nothing by passing
through a water-wheel, I had almost said, from one pass-
age to another. Imagine a dark subterranean cave just
large enough to hold the machinery of the engine. One

1847-56.] ROBERT CHAMBERS. 235

of the attachments is a ponderous beam, which, worked
by the regular action of a water-wheel, keeps slowly
moving up and down, both movements completed in
about ten seconds. The only mode of passing is to creep
as flatly as possible from one side to the other in the
short interval of about four seconds when it admits of
passage. The two gentlemen did it at the impulse of
the moment, one after another, and thought little of it
at the time, but a great deal of it afterwards. A more
pleasant episode is at Melrose Abbey, on May 13th, in
company of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Chambers and Professor
Pillans. The " old custodian " gives the party a full
account of the abbey, got, he tells them, from " Ckammer's
Jamal." This is in the afternoon. Near midnight
and in the bright moonlight they returned with Mr.
Mainzer, a musician, and some of his musical friends.
Mr. Sopwith was standing close to Robert Chambers
in the very centre of the abbey, when the deep tones of
a Gregorian chant broke upon the silence. The effect
was one of startling novelty and grandeur. Mainzer, a
proficient in this style of music, had gone to the place of
the high altar, under the eastern window, and from thence
his deep and expressive tones floated through the still-
ness. Chambers listened in astonishment to the end,
and then exclaimed, " I feel just bathed in poetry. Few
such moments occur in the journey of life."

On November 30th Mr. Sopwith and Mr. Uonkin dined
with the writers of Punch. There was much humour
and anecdote ; but, none, he thought, excelled his friend
Donkin, " in wit's worth " at Mr. Punch's table.

On December 20th of this year Thomas Wentworth
Beaumont, Esq., the owner of the W. B. Lead-mines, died
at Bournemouth. " He was," says Mr. Sopwith, " a
kind employer and generous friend."

236 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1847-56.

1849.

From January to May 1849 there was a strike of miners.
According- to quarterly contract, each miner undertook to
work during the week for forty hours, in five eight-hour
shifts. It was detected that the men did not work their
full time, and when remonstrated with they struck work.
Mr. Sopwith had interviews with them many times, but
would not make any concession, although he remained on
friendly terms with them all. They at last voluntarily
came back to their occupation. One incident he records
with much pleasure. In settling some wages whilst
the men were on strike, £5* were paid them in excess
of what was due, by an accident. The honest fellows
brought it all back, — a touch of nobility which he never
failed to honour when on any occasion the subject of
strikes was under discussion.

A note on October 17th records the commencement of
the Elswick Works of the famous Armstrong Company.
The company consisted of five persons — namely, William
George Armstrong, his father, Alderman William Arm-
strong, Alderman Donkin, Richard Lambert, and William
Crnddace. With a moderate investment from each it
was determined to commence the works which have since
grown to such magnificent dimensions. Mr. Sopwith
could, if he had pleased, have become a partner in
this wonderful work ; but he had made up his mind
already that the superintendence of the Allenhead Mines
should be his future care, and he was not the man to
change his mind even for this most tempting offer.

The property had now passed into the possession of
Mr. Beaumont's son, at the time a minor ; so much the
more the reason why his own experience should be
devoted to the important work he had in hand.

1847-56-] PRINCIPLES AND DETAILS. 237

1850.

He has a note, dated March 22nd, 1850, relative to
the great forthcoming Exhibition of the Industries of the
World; but, curiously enough, the course of the journal
is broken or lost for several months at this point. A refer-
ence to the Theatrical Fund dinner, with Mr. Benjamin
Webster in the chair, is the principal incident named
in 1850.

1852.

A brief note on April 10th, 1852, conveys an excellent
notion of Mr. Sopwith's views on the course of life.

"If it were possible to foresee what will happen, what will
be important, and what will be insignificant, then of course
I would concentrate my whole time and attention on that
which is to happen, and leave all the rest to the oblivion and
insignificance which fate, or Providence, or the order of events,
by whatever name it is called, has destined ; but so long as we
know not the course of future events, it is well that every matter
in its turn be duly considered, be regularly recorded, and placed
on such a footing as can be understood and acted upon by
others if need be. This may be plodding and ' slow ; ' but if
there is stability placed within our reach, it is only by order
and method, not by lucky hits, that we can obtain stability."

In a subsequent entry another line of reflection is
offered, bearing on the work of juinciples from details.

" It will, I believe, always be found that the harmonious
and effective working of any great concern depends on a close
and constant study of details ; but then such details taken
separately are of no significance ; it is only when collected into
groups of general facts and conclusions, and these groups,
again, compared one with another, so as to present a clear view
of the whole in its true proportions, that a collected and useful
comprehension of the whole scheme can be formed. It is, in

238 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1847-56.

fact, only that habit of mind which can patiently consider the
minute operations, and grasp them in large and general views,
that can rightly understand the whole. No one who has not
diligently worked in all the three kingdoms of nature with
the microscope, and grasped the myriads of suns which the
telescope unfolds, can form a just conception of the wonders of
the universe ; and so in like manner constant daily and hourly
observation has the same relation to any succession of events
that the microscope has to the development of minute structure
in physical substances.

"The comprehensive retrospect of many years so occupied
affords to the mind a certain capacity for forming conclusions ;
it brings into a focus, as it were, long series of events, of
which the minuter details are lost, just as we lose all trace of
minute objects in the view of an extensive landscape from a
mountain-top. Hence it is that education and intellectual labour
are indispensable to arrive at any tolerable degree of perfection
in any department of art and science. It is this and this
only which can give aptitude for any particular pursuit ;
and hence the serious errors which arise from what is called
amateur legislation. Authority to do, without the power fully
to comprehend the results, may well be said to make angels
weep ; and yet it is upon this system, in a great measure, that
the legislative power is conferred on a class peculiarly ill-fitted
for the acquirement of minute detail and for habits of patient
investigation. I have had abundant opportunities through
life of observing how much this holds good both in the
transactions of public business and the management of large
properties, and this train of thought is often present to me
when following the routine of my daily duties."

At the close of 1852 Mr. Sopwith was a member of
the Athemeum Club and of the Society of Arts.

1853-55.
In 1853, a pleasing event of Mr. Sopwith's life was
a visit, in October, at Inveraray, to the Duke of Argyle,

1847-56.] DEATH OF MRS. SOP WITH. 239

for whom lie went to inspect a nickel-mine. The story
of the visit is delightfully told.

The year 1854 is of interest from the circumstance
that it deals with a journey which Mr. Sopwith made
to Denmark and Norway, in company with Mr. Robert
Stephenson, Mr. Illingworth, and Mr. Bidder. The
account of his visit to Copenhagen, and to various other
places in this tour, is racily told ; but the strain of the
narrative is most lively in relating all the honours
heaped on Robert Stephenson, on whom was conferred,
with great distinction, the Norwegian order of knight-
hood. Unhappily the pleasure of the visit was marred
by a message received by Mr. Sopwith at Kiel, on
September 7th, telling him of the illness of his beloved
wife, to whom he immediately returned, to find her much
prostrated, but recovering slowly from a serious illness
from which she had suffered.

Mrs. Sopwith recovered considerably from this illness,
and during the early part of 1855 the usual business
of my friend progressed with very little change. In
September, in company with Mr. Robert Stephenson,
he paid a visit to Paris, in order to see the Great
Exhibition there, where they both received a very
hearty welcome. Returning home in the middle of
September, he resumed the consideration of some pro-
posed works of considerable magnitude connected with
the mines; and on Thursday, October 4th, at Holmes Linn,
he broke ground for a new shaft ; Mrs. Sopwith also
broke ground for a second, and his daughter Ursula for a
third shaft, at Sipton Shield, — quite an eventful day in
mining at Allenheads.

A few days later, while on a visit at Scarborough, he
was recalled, owing to a relapse of Mrs. Sopwith. He
arrived home on October 12th to find her in a very

24o THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1847-56.

prostrate condition. Her illness continued to grow more
serious, and on November the 1st she passed away. The
narrative of this bereavement, as told in the diary, is
most affecting. It shows a combination of the tenderest
sympathy with the most perfect resignation. The loss
was irreparable ; but with his usual strength of will he
continued at his labour, and trusted to time as the only
means of cure.

In May 1856 he is in London on a visit to Mr. Robert
Stephenson, and is greatly pleased with a day they spent
together, on May 29th, at Mr. Henry Stephens', of
Finchley. Mr. Stephens was himself a very remarkable
man. He was a fellow-student and friend of John
Keats, the poet, and, as I have elsewhere related, was
present when Keats wrote the famous line, " A thing
of beauty is a joy for ever." On another day he rode on
horseback with R. S. to Albemarle Villa, Wimbledon,
the residence of Mr. G-eorge Stephenson, and breakfasted
with him. On June 7th they went with a distinguished
company to Greenwich Observatory.

During this visit to London he had the great pleasure
of supping with Faraday and his very agreeable circle of
friends and relations.

On July (14th) he records as a memorable event a visit
which he received from Michael Faraday at Allenheads,
which, as throwing a pencil of light over one of the most dis-
tinguished Englishmen of any time, must be given in full.

" Mr. Faraday came about one o'clock, and I was indeed glad
to receive so distinguished and so truly welcome a visitor. He
remained until the forenoon of the following day, little more
than twenty hours in all, and scarcely exceeding twelve hours
of his company and conversation at Allenheads, with other
two hours on our way to Haydon Bridge ; but these hours, few

1847-56.] PROFESSOR FARADAY. 241

in number, were rich in interest, and I derived from them an
amount of enjoyment which it would be difficult to describe
without some appearance of undue partiality or enthusiasm.

"Those, however, who have been enabled to appreciate the
world-wide fame of Faraday as a philosopher, or who have
witnessed the charming simplicity and attractiveness of his
domestic habits, will readily understand how much I was
gratified to have the solitudes of a mountain home enlivened
by so cheerful a friend, and my own imperfect stores of
knowledge greatly augmented by the conversation of so eminent
a philosopher.

" Whenever he finds occasion to enter into communication with
others, it is done in a manner perfectly free and easy, — a cheerful
familiarity blended with all-sufficient and graceful reserve.

" A small black leather bag, carried easily in the hand, would,
as regards size or weight, have offered to him no impediment
even to a long pedestrian excursion. ' I will stay and dine,' said
his note, ' if Miss Sopwith will allow me to do so in a frock-coat.'
He understands to perfection the art of being perfectly at
home, and succeeds in placing every other person at ease as
regards any attention due to himself. His views on this and
similar matters accord with my own, and I trace with unerring
certainty the admirable instance of perfect sincerity and a
clear definition of view, — one of the highest and truest tokens
of his supremacy as the ' prince of lecturers,' an appellation
which he well deserves.

"Nest I may advert to the extreme interest which he takes in
matters of actual fact connected with the locality. The limits
of these notes admit only of brief references ; whereas the field,
and road, and everywhere, as well as ' table ' talk of Faraday is
suggestive to an extent which might form materials for many
pages.

" The school dra wings and exercises and the general principles
of education as followed out at Allenheads met his warm
approval. He was pleased with the office arrangements and with
the practical results of good education which he there observed.

16

242 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1847-56.

" In the evening we walked and talked — a long walk and a
long talk — to Byerhope Reservoir, and in the garden. Seated
at the end of Byerhope Reservoir, the conversation turned on
subjects which I had at that very place once discussed with
Robert Stephenson, and it is a pleasing memory ever to
associate with that spot that it has been the scene of philo-
sophical disquisitions, in which the minds of Faraday and
Stephenson were freely opened on some of the most curious and
wonderful problems which philosophy has ever disclosed. If I
mention that at this place and on this occasion Faraday un-
folded in a clear, perspicuous manner his views respecting centres
of force, the undulations of light, the difficulties surrounding
the received theory of atoms, and other similar matters, it
will be readily understood how full of deep and engrossing
interest such a conversation must have been. In clearness,
in earnestness, in identity of view, how very closely did this
conversation remind me of a like interview at this place and
of a like discussion with Robert Stephenson ; and in companion-
ship with these, and as connected not with one but with very
many opportunities of conversation on the like subjects here
and elsewhere in the Allenheads district, I cannot but place
the name of my valued friend William George Armstrong,
who, in addition to general science, has in this district placed
abiding records of his engineering skill, and is now occupied in
adding to the number of hydraulic machines which are already
in operation. Nor do I ever forget that one of the highest
compliments ever paid by one son of science to another was
in the instance of Faraday, when I mentioned to him the
delicacy felt by Armstrong as to his reception into the
Royal Society.

" A long and most agreeable conversation in the garden
was followed by some lively anecdotes and friendly talk over
the fireside, which even in July has its attractions during
the long-continued rains and dull weather which marked
the present (so-called) summer. In this we were joined by
part of my family circle, and much did we regret that

1847-56-] FIRST ARMSTRONG GUN 243

Ursula and Isabella were unable to be present owing to
indisposition.

" When they returned, Mr. Faraday sat with me in my
library and looked over some passages in my journals, the
keeping of which he greatly commended."

"Juty 15th, 1856.— Pleasant walk with Mr. Faraday in
Cleugh Plantation, where he admired the romantic combina-
tions of woods, rocks, and rivulets.

" We drove to Allendale Smelt Mills, and on our way had
a long conversation on the construction of the nine miles
of flues which convey the smoke of the mills to the summit of
the adjacent mountains.

" Mr. Faraday (which appellation he said he preferred to
either Doctor or Professor) was much pleased by his visit to
the smelt mills, and by a rapid survey of some of the processes
He greatly admired the straightforward and candid manners
and willing information of Mr. Steel, whose long-continued
and very large experience of smelting gives much value to his
practical opinions.

" At eleven we proceeded to Haydon Bridge and Hexham,
where I parted with my much- valued friend.

" In the course of our conversation he remarked that he had
seldom known method combined with imagination, and that he
thought it a remarkably happy constitution of mind to have
acquired so much method as he had seen evidenced, and at the
same time to possess a playful fancy and lively imagination.
But if he is correct in applying this observation to myself, it is
one which I think is still more applicable to himself, his habits
of reasoning, his careful and elaborate deductions from long
and well-conducted experiments, being blended with a peculiarly
light and happy expression in his general demeanour, whilst
his general conversation is enriched by variety of anecdotes
and amusing comments, which are alike diverting to young
and old."

On July 25th there is an entry describing the first
trial of the now famous Armstrong gun.

244 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1847-56.

" I returned to Allenheads, and found the gun experiments
in full activity under the immediate and most energetic direction
of William George Armstrong. Five out of seven of the shells
passed through the target at a thousand yards, and three
successive balls passed through very nearly in a vertical line
and not many inches apart. The arrangements by which
the shell is exploded are entirely new contrivances of Mr.
Armstrong's, and appear to me to be most ingenious and
effective, — of the latter result we had abundant demonstration."

The description of the gun is followed by a short history
of its distinguished inventor.

" Armstrong's boyhood was a continual study of electricity,
chemistry, and mechanics. He was articled to be a solicitor.
His devotion to practical science did not militate against his
completing his clerkship and becoming a principal in one of
the first houses in the north of England, — a partner in the
firm of Donkin, Stable, & Armstrong, — nearly the utmost limit
to be gained in a provincial town. In my own case the
carpentry and other business concerns in which a few years of
my youth were occupied were advanced to as great an extent
as the case permitted, and I yet retain a principal position in
what is now one of the largest establishments of the kind in
the north of England.

" But the steps by which Armstrong has acquired an
European reputation and an enduring name, and those by
which I have attained a position of some significance in
connection with mining, have been more arduous than most
young persons are disposed to imagine. We both had to make
our own way — to fight our own battle in a field where the
conquerors are few and the vanquished are many. One feeling,
I think, we have in common, — a strong faith in the power of
real merit of whatever kind to make its way, and a hearty
desire to lend a helping hand to any who evince an aptitude
for the struggle, for such indeed it is."

CHAPTEE XXIV.

HARTWELL HOUSE. METEOROLOGICAL STUDIES.
RAINFALL. TOUR TO EGYPT.

1856.

)N the year 1856 we find Mr. Sopwitli in what
may be called the ripeness, not only of his
years, but of his reputation. He was a
Fellow of the Royal Society; a member of the
Athenaeum Club; a Fellow of the Geological Societies of
England and France ; a member of the Geological Club ;
a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and a
Telford Gold Medallist of that Institution ; a member
of the Royal Institution, proposed by Faraday ; a member
of the Royal Geographical Society, of the Pala3ontological
Society, of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science, of the Society of Arts, of the Meteorological
Society of England and Scotland, of the Statistical
Society of London, and of the Archaeological Institute
and Archfeological Association. By these bonds of
fellowship he was connected with general science and
literature ; geological, mining, engineering, and useful
arts ; geography, meteorology, and natural history ; and
statistics, antiquities, and the fine arts. In addition, he
belonged to many local societies ; and in total was con-
nected with no less than twenty-six learned institutions.

In the opening chapters of this work, I referred to the
first interview I had with Mr. Sopwith at Hartwell House,

246 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1856.

in Buckinghamshire, the residence of the learned and
eccentric Dr. John Lee. As this house is historical, and
as the scientific visits which annually took place there
for many years were in their way unique, it may be of
interest to give from the diary a description of the house
and of the one visit recorded.

"September 16th, 1856. — I left Leeds this morning, and
went by rail vid Tring to Aylesbury, where I found Dr. Lee's
servant and conveyance waiting to take Captain Fitzroy and
myself to Hartwell House, where we received a hearty welcome
from Dr. Lee, and I had the great pleasure of meeting my
excellent friend Mr. James Glaisher, who introduced me to
the companion of the latter part of my journey, Captain
Fitzroy, and to Mr. Perigal, Treasurer of the Meteorological
Society.

" After dinner and music by Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Reade,
another attraction was presented by the observatory, and by a
clear atmosphere affording good views of the moon, of Jupiter,
and of some other celestial objects.

" The Rev. Mr. Reade furnished a gratifying enjoyment by
exhibiting several objects in his very excellent microscope, and
especially some exceedingly small writing : inscriptions cut on
glass with a diamond, and of a degree of minuteness almost
surpassing credibility even when seen ; the Lord's Prayer, for
example, occupying only the two-thousandth part of an area
of one square inch, which is equivalent to 112,000 words or
436,000 letters in a square inch.

"The bedroom which I occupy possesses, in some degree,
the associations of historical interest for which Hartwell is
well known in connection with the exile of the royal family of
France, and their sojourn in this place for seven years. Not
the least interesting is a blank space in one of the walls
in shape resembling the pheasants which form a prominent
feature in the paper. The absent pheasant is said to have
been cut out by one of the maids of honour as a memento of

1856.] HARTWELL HOUSE. 247

' dear Hartwell.' The room next to mine was the Queen's state
apartment, and a small apartment separated from it by a
temporary partition has the melancholy interest of being the
scene of her last moments.

" The earnest affection and deep lamentation of the King
for her loss are certainly among the most touching of the
memorials connected with Hartwell, and they occupy a yet
higher place as lessons teaching in most expressive eloquence
the supremacy of Nature and the hollowness of all earthly
pomp."

'■'■September 17th. — After meeting a very agreeable party
at breakfast, we adjourned to the front of the house, and
were for some time employed in witnessing the photographic
operations of the Rev. Mr. Lowndes and the Rev. Mr. Reade,
who arranged our party in a groixp and took a photographic
picture of the same, with the fine architectural door of Hartwell
House in the background.

"Dr. Lee had arranged a programme of occupation in
Aylesbury, which was exactly carried out ; it included a visit
to the County Infirmary, the Church, and a miniature observa-
tory in the premises of Mr. Dell.

" After luncheon we called at St. John's Lodge, a handsome
house now occupied by Admiral Smyth and his family."

"September 18th. — A meeting of the Coxincil of the Meteoro-
logical Society was held in the library this forenoon.

" After this meeting Dr. Lee very kindly offered to conduct
any of the party who were desirous to see the house and its
rich and varied scientific and literary stores, or to hear some
details of the historical events connected with the residence of
Louis XVIII. and his Court. We gladly availed ourselves
of so good an opportunity ; but the number, variety, and
extreme interest of objects in almost every apartment is such
that it was somewhat difficult to concentrate attention upon
any specific point.

"To attempt any description of Hartwell would be to
write a volume, and need not be attempted. The following

248 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1856.

memoranda are little more than a copy of rough notes made
during our inspection, and they may serve as an index to
connect my own reminiscences with the important and elaborate
details given in ' yEdes Hartwelliana,' by Admiral Smyth.

" The mounting of the telescope in the observatory is very
complete, and the clock by Vulliamy is one of two which he
made with great care — the other is at Windsor Castle. The
Equatorial Room possesses many points of interest. The
telescope formerly belonged to Admiral Smyth at Bedford,
and was used for the ' Catalogue of Stars and Celestial Cycle '
of that accomplished astronomer. The object-glass cost two
hundred guineas.

"A large and handsome room is called the Library, but
indeed the entire house merits the same appellation, as almost
every room contains a selection of valuable books. This, how-
ever, is the principal library, and it contains a rich store
of mathematical and other philosophical works of great value
for reference. The walls and tables abound with diagrams and
objects of interest, and I especially admired the busts of two
most valued friends, distinguished for high intellectual attain-
ments and moral worth, — Mrs. Somerville and Mrs. Smyth.

" Dr. Lee pointed out in the chapel a curious Egyptian
sarcophagus in the form of a richly ornamented square case.
Here also are a great variety of fossils found in the locality,
the contiguity of the parish church having led to the disuse
of the chapel for its original purpose.

" In a small library lived the Archbishop of Rheims during
the sojourn of the French exiled Court, and here on Dr. Lee's
table lay a great many prisms, lenses, and other specimens of
glass made from Hartwell sand.

" In another library Louis XVIII. spent the chief portion
of his time, a small room adjoining it with a passage and
doorway leading to the garden. In this library he received
the deputation which came to announce his restoration to the
throne. He was attended by a single servant, and a sentinel
or watchman kept a look-out at night.

1856.] HARTWELL HOUSE. 249

" Dr. Lee conducted us to the top of the house, from the
leads of which the views are extremely beautiful. Many traces
remain of the alteration made during the residence of the
French King. His retinue and Court together numbered
about one hundred and forty persons ; they amused themselves
by forming gardens, and making pigeon-houses on the roof.

"On the upper floor are several libraries; one contains a
rich collection of books, a good telescope, formerly belonging
to Captain Smyth when at Bedford. A small and very plain
barometer hangs on the wall, indicating the atmospheric
changes now, as it did in the time of the French King, to
whom it belonged. The books here are English history,
Roman histor)', catalogues, works on agriculture, architec-
ture, etc.

" In the second library on this floor the books are chiefly
historical, many of them of great interest and value.

" The third library is chiefly filled with law books, of which
Dr. Lee's ancestors, judges and others, had collected a great
number, and he has made some additions. Dr. Lee kindly
presented me with two volumes.

"The fourth with theological works, a curious Swedish
Bible, and a great variety of sermons and tracts. The fifth
contains works on geography, biography, and Chinese works.

" Dr. Lee mentioned a curious anecdote of a French lady,
who visited Hartwell not long ago, and who had lived with the
royal party. She had occupied this room, and was accompanied
by a daughter about twenty years of age, to whom she pointed
out a corner of this room as the place of her birth. ' Vous y
futes naquit.'

" A sixth library on this floor contains, amongst many
other works, a nearly perfect set of the great French
Encyclopaedia.

" A seventh room contains a complete series of the Times
newspaper from its commencement in 1809 to the present
time. The paper was first called The Day, a title which it
retained from 1809 to 1817. It was then called the New

25o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1856.

Times for two years, and afterwards Morning Journal until
1830, since which period it has retained its present name of
The Times.

" An eighth room contains law and other books, some com-
piled by former members of the family. In all these rooms
the books are neatly arranged and in excellent preservation ;
many of them are of a very valuable description, and it would
not be difficult to find in each of these separate libraries a
choice store of reading on any of the respective subjects to
which the general contents relate, there being a division of
subjects into theological, legal, and other subjects ; nor is a
hasty inspection sufficient to do more than give a very vague
notion of the extent and value of this great collection of books,
some rooms containing from one to two thousand volumes.

" The state-room of the Queen is still retained, and ad-
joining it is the small chamber in which she died. Several
pictures remain, one of them a good portrait of Louis XVIII.

" The room which I occupy was the abiding -place of the
ladies of honour in waiting upon the Queen.

" Dr. Lee related an anecdote of the Duke de Berri being
reminded, when in a magnificent suite of apartments in a
French palace, of his sojourn at Hartwell. ' Ah ! ' said he,
' I had only one room, but I was very happy in it.'

" A room originally built as a ball-room was formed into
no less than thirteen separate apartments for the retinue
of the French Court, and is now used as a museum. The
collection is extensive, and well arranged into botanical,
geological, and other divisions, a rich collection of local
fossils, and a vast variety of miscellaneous curiosities. The
Egyptian collection is exceedingly curious and select.

" In a museum library Dr. Lee showed us several ancient
charters and admirably preserved MSS. in volumes. Amongst
these are the original MS. of Dr. Pearson's great work on
astronomy, and many MS. compositions of the indefatigable
Admiral Smyth, certainly one of the most arduous veterans of
scientific research and literature of modern times.

1856.] AYLESBURY MECHANICS' INSTITUTE. 251

" A muniment-room is remarkable for its ancient oak
carving; a picture-gallery; a picture-room, the contents of
which are varied and extensive, — here is a closet with a
medical library, which is considered a valuable collection.

"It would, however, be difficult to follow each particular
room, and I have not yet noticed the principal apartments on
the ground floor. My rough notes contain more than I have
time to enter in these brief memoranda, and in continuation of
Dr. Lee's explanations I may refer to Room 23 — as we took it
in order of our visit — as containing a very curious oil-painting
of a hunt at Colworth, in which the grandfather and grand-
mother of Dr. Lee appear in the centre of a numerous equestrian
group. A bookcase is here fitted with Oriental treasures, and
we saw a fine copy of the Koran. In a closet is a collection
of books relating to the army and navy. An adjoining room
contains Egyptian books and Dr. Lee's ' firman ' when travel-
ling in the East. Another room contains many paintings and
a medical library.

"Aylesbury Mechanics' Institution.
" Dr. Lee takes a very active interest in many of those
institutions and societies which aim at general ameliorations
or amendments. Those who have largely studied mankind, or
who possess acute powers of observation, or who have been
thrown into opportunities of knowing the inner machinery
and guiding motives of some of those societies, directed as they
often are by a few influential minds, must have painfully seen
and felt that they are by no means free from imperfection in
design and failure in result ; while on the other side of the
question there can be no doubt that the great majority of
members and promoters are really actuated by good inten-
tions and direct their views to solid and substantial benefits,
which, however, are more easily aspired after than obtained.
Mechanics' institutions are especially an illustration of this,
as- are also a yet higher class of literary and scientific institu-
tions and public societies. This being the case, it is evident

252 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1856.

that such benevolent institutions, however slow in progress or
attended with imperfection, have in the main a right tendency ;
and though some of them aim at results which appear difficult if
not absolutely impossible of attainment, yet they promote some
approaches thereto which are on the side of temperance and
mutual improvement. There are two circumstances which
appear obvious as regards the true use of these societies : one
is, that to place solid information within their reach is the
most likely means to displace the influence of mere pretension ;
and the other, that the patronage and encouragement of persons
of wealth and local influence as well as of intelligence, when
bestowed in the form of generous hospitality to the members
of a mechanics' institution or any similar society (many of
whom are of the middle or what is sometimes deemed an inferior
station of life), are calculated to give a right tone and energy
to then- exertions.

" The party now at Hart well comprises several who, like
myself, have fought their way from a position of very moderate
influence to some approach to usefulness in the world, — some
who have carried with them a fair share of comfort as regards
wealth and position, others who are yet striving by well-
directed efforts to gain the true dignity of self-advancement.

" The members of a mechanics' institution in a small country
town like Aylesbury are necessarily of a humble condition as
compared with aristocratic society, and consist of schoolmasters,
clerks, and shop-keepers, rather than of working mechanics.

" It may therefore be readily imagined that to the members
of such a society an invitation to take tea and spend an
evening at Hartwell House must afford an agreeable variety
from the routine of their usual duties, and at the same time
promote a kind feeling between different classes of society.
There are some who object to this intermixture of classes in a
private mansion ; but it accords very closely with my own views
and sympathies, and is, I believe, calculated to give a healthy
and vigorous tone to social intercourse.

" The present occasion was considered by Dr. Lee as fitting

1856.] BURIAL-PLACE OF HAMPDEN. 253

for such an invitation, and a series of addresses were arranged
to be given by some of the visitors now residing at the Ball.
This was very admirably carried out. Mr. Thomas Dobson
explained a beautiful series of diagrams of atmospheric changes
during three or four successive years, and their close con-
nection and correspondence with coal-mine explosions. Dr.
Richardson exhibited the heart of a young calf, which he
dissected as he illustrated and explained the machinery of the
circulation, and detailed at great length the successive steps
by which he was led to the discovery of ammonia in the blood.
Dr. Barker spoke on ozone. Mr. Glaisher described a new
system of self-registering thermometer, and I said a few words
on improvement societies.

" Dr. Lee had made a careful programme, and the evening
was spent most agreeably until about eleven o'clock, when the
Aylesbury visitors returned home."

" September 20tk. — On this day Dr. Lee had very kindly
made arrangements for a party comprising his visitors and
some of his neighbours to visit the place of the Hampdens
and of Cromwell, as also to see some of the finest scenery and
most extensive prospects in this part of the kingdom. About
six carriages were put in requisition, and I had the pleasure
of being grouped with Dr. Lee, the Rev. Mr. Reade, and
Mr. Glaisher.

" We drove on to Hampden, admiring what Mrs. S. C. Hall
so well describes as ' tinted woods and uprisings of the
Chiltern Hills.' We first visited the church, containing some
monumental memorials of the Hampden family, but no separate
one dedicated to ' the Hampden ' whose fame gives a sacred
character to all around. On the feelings of reverence and
respect created by a visit to this place I might say much, but
my own views and those of all who can rightly regard the
value of historical associations are admirably expressed by Mrs.
S. 0. Hall in her account of 'The Burial-place of John Hampden,'
in her beautiful book of ' Pilgrimages to English Shrines.'

" We then visited the mansion, and were received with great

254 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1856.

courtesy by Lady Vere Cameron. A photographic view was
taken of the house by the Rev. Mr. Lowndes, and a group was
formed as part of the picture,, in which Mrs. Lee, two of the
daughters of Lady Cameron, Mr. Glaisher, and myself Avere
included. Her ladyship provided refreshments in the dining-
room, and we were much gratified by all we saw. We then
proceeded a distance of two miles to the ' Chequers,' formerly
the mansion of Cromwell.

" We returned to Hartwell at six, and I immediately left for
London, where I arrived at 8.30 p.m."

It seems to rue but a very brief period indeed since I
had the pleasure of accompanying my friend in these
excursions. At this time the 'great moon controversy
was the topic of the day, the question being whether
the moon turned on its own axis once each month, or
whether she did not turn on an axis at all, but simply
moved liked a rigid body with one face always towards
us. Mr. Perigal, friend and ally of Jelinger Symons, took
the rigid side of the question. The Rev. J. B. Reade,
one of the brightest men of science the Church of England
ever produced, and Mr. James Glaisher took the opposite
and orthodox side. The controversies often got wild and
furious; two or three, including Mr. Dobson, Captain
Fitzroy, and myself, losing no opportunity of setting the
combatants on whenever we could, to Dr. Lee's great
delight. He appointed Sop with umpire, and the sly
humour which the umpire introduced into the summings
up was most amusing ; for although he went with
Glaisher and Reade, he would sometimes, for the amuse-
ment of the tiling, throw an argument to the other side,
interposing calculations of his own of the most fanciful
kind, such as how many moons would be required to
keep up a perpetual eclipse of the sun ; how a universal
deluge could be produced in three days by a change in the

1856.] EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY. 255

movements of the moon ; what would be the size of the
inhabitants of the moon if there were any there, and
what height they could jump ; whether the moon was not
Liliput, and so on, — topics which gave us amusing subjects
for discussion from day to day. I was greatly surprised
at the rapidity with which he learned new mechanical
things. After my lecture on the heart of the calf, to
which he has referred above, he asked me to give him a
private lesson, and got up the whole subject with such
precision that he could name every valve and part
straight off ; and when I showed him how the large
valves rose when water was poured into the cavities his
delight was great, for he knew of some piece of artificial
mechanism to which the principle would apply. " You
see we are both engineers," he added, " I an iron and lead
engineer, you an animal engineer."

Photography was just then coming into use, and one
of our party, the Rev. J. B. Reade, was amongst the
first, if not the first, to lead the way to that great im-
provement. The Rev. Charles Lowndes, who held the
chaplaincy at Hartwell, was great in the new art, and in
the mornings we photographed everybody and everything.
I have a capital photo still of Messrs. Glaisher and
Sopwith sitting together examining a watch. Sometimes
our fun was a little more lively. One day Mr. Glaisher
and I had a wrestling match on the top of a hill, greatly
to the amusement of Captain Fitzroy and Mr. Sopwith ;
they, so to say, being our seconds, Mr. Sopwith backing
Glaisher and the Captain me. After a stiff tussle we both
fell together, and rolled from the top of the hill to the
bottom, much to the general amusement. Glaisher has
been up in balloons since then, and I hope he never got
a worse shaking. He is always a delightful memory.

At night in the drawing-room, as a variation to Mrs.

256 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1856.

Lee's excellent music, Dr. Lee would call upon somebody
to give a short lecture or tell a story. On one of these
occasions Mr. Sopwith described the hypothesis of the
development of living things from a primordial centre.
That, said Reade, is rank Darwinism. It was the first
time I had heard that word used. It had no reference to
Charles Darwin, whose name at that period was not con-
nected with the subject ; but it had reference to Erasmus
Darwin, and to his original and fruitful observations. I
name this incident as indicating that Darwinism, like
everything else, is itself an evolution.

I have already described the morning discussion at
Hartwell in the first chapter, to which these later
memoranda, suggested by perusal of the Sopwith diary,
are an appendix.

On returning home from this visit, Mr. Sopwith sent
eighty pamphlets and books to Dr. Lee, either for him-
self or for the Mechanics' Institution at Aylesbury. The
visit also set him on a new occupation. At Hartwell
Dr. Lee had a meteorological observatory, the records
of which were kept with great precision by his able
secretary, Mr. Samuel Horton. Mr. Sopwith "took
lessons," and at Allenheads soon commenced to practise
similar observations, with special reference to rainfall.
This leads to a note in his diary on the amount of rain
on Tuesday, September 30th, after a series of continuous
showers from the previous Saturday. The entry is
rendered as follows : —

" September 30f/t. — The rain-gauge on this Tuesday morning
shows that upwards of five inches of rain have fallen in three
days, — Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, from 9 a.m. on Saturday
to the same hour on Tuesday (this day). Conversing with Mr.
T. J. Bewick on the large quantity of rain, I was led to enter

1856.] RAINFALL. 257

on the following calculations, which present a curious view of
the vast amount of water-power in the quantity which has
fallen.

"The exact depth is 5-070 inches, which I call in round
numbers five inches.

" There are 27,878,400 square feet in one square mile.

" Five-twelfths of this will be the number of cubic feet of
water in one square mile, and this is found to be 11,616,000
cubic feet. One cubic foot of water weighs 62 \ lb., but
say 60 lb. Then 11,616,000 x 60 = 696,960,000 lb., which
amounts to 312,482 tons, or in 100 square miles 31,248,200
tons of water.

" For an area of ten miles square in this locality : 100
square miles, the rain falls on lands which are elevated from
800 to 2,200 feet in height (this distance not including
Cross Fell, which is 2,901 feet), and the average descent of
water from these districts to the outlet by principal contiguous
rivers, as the Tyne, the Wear, and the Tees, may be taken at
1,000 feet.

" Now if 33,000 lb. falling one foot in a minute be taken as
the estimate of a horse-power, and assuming the above quantity
to fall 1,000 feet in seventy-two hours, we have an aggregate
fall of water equal to 4,888 horse-power per minute for one
square mile, or in the area of 100 square miles 488,800
horse-power. Taking the mining districts, with Cross Fell
and the adjacent hills, as including 400 square miles (the area
assigned in my account of these districts), and calling the
descent 1,000 feet instead of about 1,500 or 1,600 (which is
equivalent to allowing only | of the rain), we have an escape
or running away of a quantity of water equal to 1,955,200,
or in round numbers 2,000,000, of horse-power exerted
continuously over the whole seventy-two hours. This is
equivalent to the united power of 10,000,000 men employed
at the limit of their extreme strength for nine days at eight
hours a day.

" Another mode of bringing this extraordinary quantity

17

258 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1856.

of water under consideration is to suppose it piled up or
contained in a square pipe of twelve inches clear dimensions
inside. Such a column twelve inches square would be 220
miles high to contain the rainfall of five inches over one mile ;
and in the mining districts of 400 square miles, the quantity
of water would require a twelve-inch pipe of no less than
88,000 miles, which is more than one-third of the distance
from the earth to the moon.

"As about ten times the above quantity of rain, or fifty inches,
is a moderate estimate of the annual rainfall in these districts,
it follows that a twelve-inch square pipe to contain the whole
rainfall in one year over the 400 square miles would be
880,000 miles in length ; and in some years— 1852, for example,
when nearly one-half more rain fell (72 inches)— the length of
the twelve-inch pipe would be upwards of 1,200,000 (one million
two hundred thousand) miles.

" It is only by calculations of this kind that any exact
notion can be formed of the magnificent scale of the operations
of nature. Or, if we suppose the last named quantity of water
to be placed in a canal 100 feet wide and 10 feet deep, the
length of such canal would be 1,200 miles."

In the closing part of this year Mr. Armstrong renewed
his gun experiments at Allenheads, when Mr. Robert
Stephenson paid a visit there, and Mr. Sopwith, after hav-
ing retired from the business with which he had been so
long connected in Newcastle, started on a tour to Egypt,
then a much more formidable undertaking than at this
date. He had for his companions Mr. Robert Stephenson
and Mr. Lee, R.A. On their way through Paris they met
M. Paletot, the distinguished engineer ; M. Dideon, a
director of the line of railway between Paris and Bordeaux,
an accomplished scholar and Shakesperian ; Mr. Locke,
M.P., Mr. Brassey, and many other eminent friends.
From Paris they went to Lyons and Nisnies, with
which they were greatly delighted. From Nismes they

1856.] TOUR TO EGYPT 259

travelled to Marseilles, and from Marseilles to Toulon,
where they went on board the Titania yacht in the
harbour there.

On Tuesday, December 2nd, they set sail for Alexandria,
where they arrived after a delightful voyage on Saturday,
December 13th. After staying in Alexandria three or
four days they went by the first " Mussulman Railway "
to Cairo.

To Mr. Sopwith this bit of railway journey was one
of the events of his life ; and his description of the men
who were engaged on the railway, and the manner in
which, as in ancient Egypt, they were forced to leave
their crops and all other works at the call of their task-
masters is very striking. The mode of work of these
men, their " cat-like facility and surety," and their
wonderful powers of endurance were, he thought, sur-
prizing, for they could compete for a whole day with
a horse going over thirty or forty miles at a moderate
speed. The ferry-boat which Robert Stephenson planned
for crossing the Nile where it is 1,200 feet in width
is described with great care and admiration. This
was the first opportunity Mr. Stephenson had enjoyed
of seeing his work in operation, — a fact which added
naturally to the freshness of the visit.

CHAPTEE XXV.

RESIGNATION AT ALLENHEADS AND RESIDENCE IN
LONDON. A RETROSPECT. DEATHS OF BRUNEI
AND ROBERT STEPHENSON. MUSICAL PITCH. A
LONDON MUSIC HALL.

1857-59.

|N landing in England from his Egyptian tour
on January 22nd, 1857, Mr. Sopwith pro-
ceeded direct to Allenheads. On February
26th he revisited London, and dined with
Sir Roderick Murchison to meet Dr. Livingstone, who
was then in the metropolis. On the following day,
with his daughters Anna and Emily, he went to the
Royal Institution to listen to one of the remarkable
lectures of Faraday on the Conservation of Force. Prince
Albert was in the chair, and the lecture was received by
all with the profoundest attention.

During this visit to town (on March 2nd) some differ-
ences of opinion between Mr. Sopwith and Mr. Beaumont
led Mr. Sopwith to tender his resignation of the agency of
Allenheads. It was a painful decision for him, tempered,
however, by the complimentary offer of the Council of
the British Meteorological Society that he should be
President of the Society, an offer he was obliged, re-
luctantly, to decline on account of the distance at which
he resided from London.

1 85 7-59-] A RETROSPECT OF 1857. 261

The difficulties between Mr. Beaumont and himself
were temporarily made up by his acceptance of the
office of non-resident agent of the W. B. Mines. On
August 1st, 1857, he left Allenheads, as he believed, for
good, and removed to London. Here he took up his resi-
dence at 43, Cleveland Square, a house furnished, almost
exclusively, under the immediate management of his
"dear Ursula." In October he paid a visit to St.
Leonards, in company with Mr. Decimus Burton, and in
November of this year had conferred upon him, Honoris
causa, the degree of M.A. by the University of
Durham.

On December 8th, at the Institution of Civil Engineers,
he read a paper on the Ferry at Kaffre Azzayat, on the
river Nile. The paper was rather novel at the Society, as
it infused a little landscape and picturesqueness; but it
went off well, Sir John Rennie and the beloved Robert
Stephenson exjn'essing their approval. The isometrical
drawings with which the paper was illustrated were
much approved.

His retrospect of this year, 1857, ends as follows : —

" On December 29th I spent the forenoon at Millwall at
the Great Eastern or Leviathan ship, and the afternoon at
Faraday's lecture, where the Prince of Wales was present. On
the 30th I had a conversation with Mr. E. J. Smith on matters
of great concern as regards the Weardale mining districts, and
on the 31st the evening was spent and the year ended at a most
agreeable party at Mrs. S. C. Hall's, my return from which
brought me home about midnight ; and thus I commenced the
early hours of the New Year in the much-loved company of my
dear children, all of whom are now sojourning at No. 43 in
Cleveland Square as residents, with the exception of my son
Tom, who is on a three weeks' visit for the enjoyment of his
Christmas holidays.

262 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1857-59.

" It is with much interest that I thus draw up a brief
epitome of some of the more prominent features which have
marked the events of the past year.

" The retrospect is one which furnishes abundant food for
deep reflection, and let me say, for deep and lasting gratitude.
Of my own weakness and infirmity I am too conscious not to
know and feel that in the ordering of events by the unseen and
mysterious Providence which guides and governs the world I
have been permitted during the past year to possess privileges
and to enjoy benefits to which, as of my own merit, I could lay
no claim, and which therefore I ascribe entirely with devout
gratitude to the undeserved bounty of the Giver of all good.
I care not how others may choose to express the sentiments
they feel in connection with what may be deemed a religious
view of life ; I purposely abstain from all save general expres-
sions, and I honour and respect every variety of form in which
sincere feeling is clothed. That clothing depends much on the
conditions of early ti'aining, on long-continued habits and asso-
ciations, and I therefore deem it important not to interfere or
comment with reference to special views on sectarian differences.

" That ' the goodness of God endureth yet daily ' is one of the
chief articles of my belief, as it also is the strongest pillar of an
unfaltering trust in God, and a confidence in the wisdom and
goodness of the government of the world, however deep and
mysterious the apparent contradictions may be. A year of
perfect health, of reasonable prosperity, of great variety of
scenery and occupation, and blessed with overflowing abundance
of the rich treasures of valued friendship ; what broad outlines
are these of as much felicity as can be reasonably desired ! My
change of residence from Allenheads to London has been one of
the marked conditions of the year, and this change has led me
into a new range of duty and a wider sphere of enjoyment.
The circumstances which gave rise to it led to some anxiety, but
on the whole I am inclined to believe that friendship and con-
fidence, as between Mr. Beaumont and myself, have been placed
on a firmer basis than before.

1 857-59.] MARRIAGE TO MISS POTTER. 263

" The magnitude, the number, and the great variety of my
duties connected with his service occupy my whole time and
attention, and I have declined all other business.

" I have received in very many quarters the most earnest
and friendly sympathy and regard, and in concluding the notes
of this year I desire to express, as I have often before done, a
sense of deep and fervent gratitude, mixed with a conscious-
ness of my own inability, yet with a humble and hearty trust
in the unfailing goodness of God."

1858.
The year 1858 seems to have gone on very smoothly.
On June 9th Mr. Sopwith gave a lecture to the students
of King's College on geological plans, sections, and
models, and on the following day he was gratified by a
visit from George Coombe, the author of " The Con-
stitution of Man." On the 19th he was at luncheon at
Mr. Robert Stephenson's to meet Professor Wheatstone
and Frank and Miss Buckland, both of whom were now
lamenting the death of their distinguished father, the
Dean of Westminster. On this occasion Frank Buckland
gave him a Memoir he had written of the Dean for
perusal. On July 24th he was at dinner at Sir James
Duke's to meet Mr. Alderman Mechi, " well known in
connection with his agricultural improvements in ex-
perimental farming at Tiptree." On August 25th he
was busy at a meeting of mechanical engineers at New-
castle. On September 22nd to the 27th he was equally
busy at Leeds at the British Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science, and on September 29th Mr. W.
G. Armstrong, of Newcastle, took him in his brougham
to St. Nicholas' Church, where he was married to Miss
Anne Potter, of Heaton, by the Vicar of Newcastle ;
after which the bride and bridegroom started for Lincoln
on their wedding tour.

264 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1857-59.

1859.
In the diary of 1859 a valuable entry gives us an idea
of the quick, keen and sound appreciation of natural
facts by Mr. W. Gr. Armstrong.

'•'■January 30th. — I spent the evening with Mr. W. G.
Armstrong at Jesmond. I was truly glad to learn that the
Government, in due appreciation of Mr. Armstrong's services,
have given him an appointment to be ' Engineer of Rifled
Ordnance ' with a handsome salary, together with a large
order for guns, and offers of personal honours which are
well deserved, and which mark the favour of the Sovereign
as well as the approval of her Government. In all this
I sincerely rejoice. I have had many opportunities of
witnessing his devotion to Science, and his marvellous apti-
tude in adapting the power of natural forces to any
required mechanical purpose. I accompanied him on his
first visit to and examination of the boder at Seghill, where
the curious phenomenon of electricity developed by steam was
discovered by one of the workmen, and made by Armstrong the
foundation of his rapid and brilliant researches, ending in the
construction of the well-known electrical steam-engine.

"At Gateshead, in 1840, I witnessed some of the earliest
experiments with a hydraulic engine, and both in London, at
Allenheads, and Newcastle have again and again been delighted
by his extraordinary powers, as may be seen in many former
pages of this journal. Speaking this evening of 'tails,' i.e.,
distinctive letters after a name, he jokingly said that he valued
none more highly than M.D., which he thought he might
assume as an abbreviation of the title bestowed on him by an
Allendale miner of ' Maister o' th' Drallikers,' by which was
implied his mastership of the men employed in putting up the
hydraulic engines which are not among the least of his
eminently practical and scientific works."

The honours soon followed, knighthood being conferred

I8S7-59-] SIR WILLIAM ARMSTRONG. 265

on Mr. Armstrong about the 20th of the succeeding
month; and on May 11th there is a brief record of a
dinner to Sir William in memory of the event. The
dinner was given at the Assembly Rooms, Newcastle.
Sir George Grey occupied the chair, and Mr. Robert
Stephenson, many other notabilities, and about two
hundred local gentlemen took part in the ceremony.

On May 12th there is a curious entry of an interview
which Mr. Sopwith and Robert Stephenson held as
railway travellers from York to Doncaster with George
Hudson, the famous railway king. Hudson at this
time had lost both wealth and power, and had just been
dispossessed of his seat for Sunderland. Towards him
Mr. Sopwith was affected in a twofold sense. He could
not withhold sympathy with the man in his misfortunes,
and he could not doubt that those misfortunes were the
natural results of his own lines of procedure.

A visit to the Isle of Wight, visits to the Birkbeck
Schools, a lecture at King's College, and continual active
business between London and Allenheads, made the days
go very pleasantly in the early part of 1859. In this year
an arrangement was made by which Mr. Thomas Sopwith,
Mr. Sopwith's son, commenced to undertake duties at
Allenheads under Mr. Bewick, who was now practically
acting as agent. The arrangement was very satisfactory.

In the diary of August 21st, 1859, there is an abstract of
his views on the subject of taxation as the basis of voting.

"August 21st.— In the evening I dined with Mr. and Lady
Margaret Beaumont, the Duke de Richelieu, the Countess of
Cork, and Sir John Shelley. In the drawing-room the conversa-
tion turned on the ballot, which I contend would be rejected if its
essential principle of secrecy admitted of being made compulsory.
This public duty I consider should be performed in a public

266 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1857-59.

manner by those most competent to understand its obligations.
I also named my opinion that taxation is the proper basis in
proportional value according to the number of pounds sterling-
paid for taxes, rates, or other similar contributions. Every man,
and even every woman and child, might thus contribute and be
enabled to assist, to the proportional value of their payments,
any candidate for the representation. Due influence would
thus be given to intelligence and solid interests as represented
by the more opulent members of the community, who would be
utterly swamped in any system of equal voting and universal
suffrage. This theory finds small favour with Sir John Shelley,
who has not yet joined the ranks of what are called ' retarded '
Liberals, men who, in practice, are not far apart from the
' advanced ' Conservatives. It is, however — I am persuaded,
that it is — only on some such basis that a large extension of
voting power can be combined with stability."

Another entry on September 6tli refers to an important
improvement in the construction of submarine cables.

"I dined with Mr. Sillick at Claremont Place to meet
Mr. William Hooper of London, with whom I have had
occasional interviews and some correspondence on a recent
improvement he considers himself to have effected in the
insulation by india-rubber of electric wire for submarine
cables, and which, so far as I can judge, appears to possess
undoubted claims to great consideration. It is worthy of
notice, as an index to the large character of some of the modern
works of ingenuity, that the average quantity of cable used per
week by one firm (Messrs. Newall & Co.) is about one hundred
miles, the cost of which at a minimum may be about £8,000, or
more than £400,000 yearly."

A note on September 18th, 1859, relates to the death
of the distinguished I. K. Brunei.

"September 18th. — On Wednesday last I heard mentioned the
serious illness of Mr. I. K. Brunei, who died on the following

1857-59- ] DEATH OF I. K. BRUNEL. 267

evening, Thursday, September 14th. He was brought home
from the Great Eastern steamship at midday on the 5th in a
very alarming condition, having been seized with paralysis,
induced, it was believed, by over mental anxiety, froni which
his health had materially suffered for some years past. Brunei
occupied day and night alike in continual and earnest mental
exertion, and thus his death took place at the comparatively
early age of fifty-four. He has for many years occupied a very
prominent and influential position as an engineer, placed by
some at the head of the profession, but not so recognised either
by the public, or by the profession ; but all who for the past
thirty years have known intimately the progress of civil en-
gineering in this country, will remember Telford as the chief
head and representative of an old school which expired with
him and the two Stephensons, father and son ; and Brunei
as the leader of a new and vastly extended school of which
railways and locomotive engines have been the great features,
with their concomitants of tunnels, bridges, telegraphs, and
steam navigation. At the present time hydraulic machinery
and gunnery have assumed a prominent place, and no name
in 1859 is more extensively recognised than that of Armstrong.
The associations of the present moment are seldom much thought
of, and still seldomer deemed worthy of being recorded, but
in after years it may be curious to remember that the illness of
Brunei was the subject of conversation at Armstrong's dinner
table, and his death took place at the very hour when my friends
and myself were separating after spending the evening at
Jesmond. Constant occupation and anxiety seem at present to
be telling upon Armstrong's health, which I fear is far less
robust than was Brunei's a few years ago ; and on every side I
see examples of premature decay and death, induced by undue
pressure of mental exertion."

On October 12th is a still more sad entry made at
Newcastle.

^October 12th. — At ten minutes past twelve the world lost

268 THOMAS SOP WITH, P.R.S. [1857-59.

Robert Stephenson. Of this sad, but not unexpected, event I
did not receive intelligence until the arrival of my letters the
following morning. I went to Bretton Hall, and was engaged
some time with Mr. Beaumont on business matters. There
was a large party to dinner, amongst whom were the Earl of
Sefton, Lady Mary Fox, and others.

" October VMh. — This morning's post brought me a letter from
my dear Lallah. It conveyed the sad news already mentioned,
that Mr. Robert Stephenson was no more. When the intelli-
gence reached Newcastle universal sorrow prevailed. The bell
of St. Nicholas' Church tolled for a long time during the after-
noon, and the colours of vessels of all nations in the Tyne were
hoisted half-mast high. Mr. Beaumont, with generous sym-
pathy, left me for a short time, and I deeply felt how great
a loss I had sustained in the death of so revered a friend.
Controlling those feelings, I went into the consideration of
such urgent matters as admitted not of delay, and was thus
enabled to leave Bretton at noon, and to arrive at home at six
in the evening.

"October 14th. — I called at 34, Gloucester Square, where I saw
Mr. George Vaughan, and learnt from him some interesting
and affecting details of the illness and death of our mutual and
greatly beloved friend. It is within a clay or two of one month
since Brunei died, and since Stephenson returned, seriously ill,
from Norway. The latter had suffered much from illness and
sea-sickness on his outward voyage to Christiania, where also he
was much indisposed, but was nevertheless able to attend to
the decision of some weighty matters of business left in his
sole arbitration. Some apprehensions were entertained on his
return as to whether he would survive the voyage, and on
reaching Lowestoft he had to be lifted into his carriage. He
suffered little pain, was visited only by his medical attendants
and nurses, and was, for the most part, and especially during
the two days preceding his death, calm, composed, perfectly
conscious of, and fully resigned to, his approaching dissolution.

" He was much interested in passages of Scripture read to

I857-59-] DEATH OF ROBERT STEPHENSON. 269

him by Mrs. Bidder, who attended him with affectionate and
unremitting care, and his own prayers were described to me as
having been most impressive and appropriate, as well as con-
sistent with those deep sentiments to which, in the vigour of
health and strength, he had so often given expression. At the
moment of his death he was resting in the arms of his house-
keeper, in whose arms his wife had breathed her last. Such, at
least, are some of the circumstances, as I understand them to
be, described by Mr. Vaughan, who is now placed in charge
of the house by Mr. George Robert Stephenson. I need
scarcely say how deeply interesting is every incident connected
with the last moments of so truly great a man.

" Every letter I receive is full of corresponding eulogium, and
I this evening received one of which this may be truly said. It
is a letter from one whose opinions are as sound as his feelings
are deep and earnest— the biographer of George Stephenson.
In this communication he so well portrays the more prominent
features of the case that I transcribe it at length as follows :—
"It is dated this day, October 17th, 1859, from 6, Granville
Park Terrace, Blackheath, S.E., and thus proceeds :—

" ' My dear Sik, —

" < I was much grieved to hear of Mr. Robert Stephenson's
dangerous illness, and soon after of his death. I was informed
at his office that his medical advisers required him to be kept
perfectly quiet, otherwise I should have endeavoured to see
him once more before he died. But perhaps it is better not, as
I shall continue to see him before me, and to think of him with
his fine, cheerful, frank, and open countenance as he used to
appear among his friends, and not wasted by disease nor dis-
torted by dropsy. Although he has died young, comparatively
speaking, he had lived much ; and the works he has left behind
him, massive and majestic beyond precedent, are grandly
stamped with power, the Britannia and High Level Bridges
especially so. There may not have been the same interesting
originality about him as there was about his father, for he

270 THOMAS SOP WITH, P.P.S. [1857-59

represented the highest educated and polished intellect of his
day ; but there was quite as much force of character and
energy of purpose. And then, what a noble, gentlemanly
nature he was ; so modest, so kind, so considerate, so generous.
I have heard of many beautiful traits of character in Robert
Stephenson which make me rank him even higher as a man
than as an engineer, though there he was the first, the acknow-
ledged chief.

" ' I shall be exceedingly glad to have an opportunity of
renewing the intercourse with you which began so pleasantly
at Mr. Stephenson's table ; and I shall esteem you all the more
that I know he entertained so high an opinion of your qualities
as a man and your accomplishments as a pursuer of science.
" ' Believe me, my dear sir,

" ' Yours truly and sincerely,

"'S. Smiles.'

" < T. Sopwith, Esq.' "

A further entry describes the funeral of the great
engineer.

" Arrangements for Mr. E. Stephenson's Funeral.

" The arrangements of the funeral are of a most extensive
and delicate character. The Duke of Cambridge has given
permission for the procession to pass through Hyde Park on its
way to the Abbey ; more than two hundred and fifty applica-
tions from the nobility and others to send carriages have been
declined, and the cards of admission exceed two thousand, in
addition to the parties forming the funeral procession. The
latter are confined to the immediate relations, some friends, and
several noblemen and persons of official rank and station, and
a deputation from Newcastle to represent the Corporation.

"October 21st. — Sir William Armstrong came to breakfast, and
we had a very long and careful conversation on the Slitt Mine
requirements. We walked soon after ten past the residence of

1857-59-] FUNERAL OF ROBERT STEPHENSON. 271

the late Robert Stephenson. As we were passing, the hearse
was moving from the door, a large crowd was assembled, and
about a dozen mourning coaches and forty carriages were in
attendance. I drove with Sir William to Great George Street,
when he went to join the Council of Civil Engineers, and I
reached the Abbey a few minutes before eleven. A large
number of persons were already assembled, and I took a place
beside Mr. Decimus Burton, close to the entrance to the Choir.
From this time until twelve the numbers were greatly aug-
mented. Men of every profession, many of them of the most
distinguished rank in their respective walks, were to be seen.
Every art and science was thus represented ; and it would
be difficult to imagine a crowd composed of more intelligent
and well-known characters. On every face sincere grief and
marked respect, nay, reverence, seemed to be impressed ; and at
length, a few minutes after twelve o'clock, the solemn pealing
of the organ, the chanting of the choristers, and the deep-toned
funeral bell, indicated the arrival of the funeral procession.
What a moment of intense interest was it when first the
stream of music flowed through the vast aisles, and the majestic
tones of the organ were reverberated from the lofty roof.
Slowly onward came this most impressive and awe-inspiring-
melody. It seemed the very essence of the beauty of holiness,
and well accorded with the import of the words to which so
powerful and impressive an expression was given. The
choristers, preceded by some of the officials of the Abbey,
walked slowly past, then came the mayor and sheriff and two
aldermen from Newcastle, who, in official costume, walked in
front of the coffin. Mourners, many and sincere, followed, and
the Burial Service was continued in the Choir. The chanting of
the thirty-ninth Psalm was most solemn, and so indeed was
all the musical service, the sublime anthems and the Bead
March exceedingly so. The words as well as the music were
most impressive. Of Robert Stephenson it was truly to be
said that he delivered the poor that cried, the needy, and
he that had no helper. Equally true and solemn were the

272 THOMAS SOPJVITH, F.R.S. [1857-59.

words of the concluding anthem, ' His body is buried in peace,
but his name liveth evermore.'

" At the same time that these sad ceremonials were taking
place in Westminster Abbey, similar respect to the memory of
Robert Stephenson was paid in many other places, and especially
at Newcastle and Shields, Sunderland and Whitby. In the for-
mer of these towns divine service was celebrated in St. Nicholas'
Church, and attended by about 1,600 men from the factory, all
in deep mourning. This deep manifestation of public honours
was made before any intelligence arrived of the munificent
benefactions given to the Infirmary and Literary and Philo-
sophical Society, the one of £10,000, the other of £7,000, which,
with a recently given gift of £3,000, makes £10,000 also to the
last-named institution.

On December 23rd Mr. Sopwith attended at the
Society of Arts in London a meeting of the Committee
on the subject of a Normal Diapason.

The great need of uniformity on this subject having
been affirmed by the general meeting held in August
last, a sub-committee was then appointed, and this was
its first meeting. The duty assigned to it was the defini-
tion of such diapason. Several eminent musical men were
present, as Sterndale Bennett, Blagrove, Goss, Goldsmidt,
Davison, and Hullah who presided.

The present prevailing pitch was defined, and in
moving a second resolution Mr. Sopwith affirmed that
in selecting any uniform pitch regard should be especially
had to the capability of the voice, and this after some
discussion was carried. That any compulsory uniformity
could be effected was out of the question ; much differ-
ence of opinion prevailed, and eminent instrumental
manufacturers and performers viewed the matter with
regard to the brilliancy of concert effects from the
high pitch at present in use, rather than in regard to

1 857-59.] A LONDON MUSIC HALL. 273

the strain on the voice which is thereby caused, and of
which Madame Goldsmidt (the far-famed Jenny Lind)
had given strong testimony at a previous meeting.

On December 28th there is an entry on a new London
music hall.

" This evening I walked with my son Tom to Canterbury
Hall. It is very rarely indeed that I visit any place of public
amusement as such, and my object this evening was rather to
study a problem of social economics than to seek any enjoyment.
When in Paris, Marseilles, and other towns in France, I had
been much interested by seeing the entertainments provided in
what may be called the singing coffee-house (cafe chantant), and
Canterbury Hall being of this character, I was anxious to see
how it was managed. This place is truly one of the signs of
the times, and merits more than a brief mention. There are
many similar establishments in London, but this, the earliest,
is also, so far as I know, the best.

" We enter the door of Canterbury Hall, — so called, I pre-
sume, from its close proximity to Lambeth Palace, — we pay
sixpence for admission each, and at once enter a sort of spacious
vestibule ornamented with some large oil-paintings, pier-glasses,
and with a rich array of refreshments of various kinds on a
stall or table of considerable length. Open archways in one of
the walls enable us to see that the ground floor of the ' hall '
is crowded; the balcony above is well filled, and by payino-
an extra sixpence we gain admission to this narrow gallery,
running round three sides of the room. Here we can see the
proportions of a stately room painted a light stone colour, and
of very chaste and ornamental design. The general effect is
exceedingly good, and for purity of style and elegance of
architectural character the Hall might be a portion of a palace.
It is brilliantly lighted by glass chandeliers of uncommon
magnificence and beauty. Refreshments are supplied of good
quality, and at moderate prices, according to a printed tariff.

18

274 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1857-59.

Thus artisans, soldiers, small tradesmen, and others in a similar
walk of life can spend the whole evening for a moderate
admission fee of sixpence, taking more or less of refreshments,
or if so disposed, none at all. A constant succession of per-
formances takes place on the stage, chiefly songs with accom-
paniments, recitations, dancing, etc. A book of words is sold for
a penny; it contains fifty-five selections from operas. All is in
good order and in good taste. The whole might pass for an
aristocratical concert, but for the pipes on the ground floor
and cigars above, which sorely test the admirable ventilating
qualities of the room.

" Leaving the crowded hall, we pass into a splendid picture
gallery, well lighted, and containing two hundred and forty
pictures. Among them is the original Horse Fair of Rosa
Bonheur."

Turning to another and very different topic, there is a
short commentary on Faraday.

Everything relating to Faraday had a special charm
for Mr. Sopwith, but nothing in relation to the philosopher
pleased him so much as the truly childish simplicity and
purity of that charming and philosophic life. " I do not
know which I admired most in Faraday," he said to me,
" his simplicity or his profundity. There will never be
another Faraday in our time." We all know the truth
of this prediction, and that the mantle of Faraday was
buried with the man. But perhaps my friend was right
in saying that his simplicity was as conspicuous as his
profundity. He goes on to speak of something illustrative
of this in a note at the close of the year 1859, bearing
upon one of the juvenile lectures which the brilliant
Professor was accustomed to deliver annually at the
Royal Institution. On the last day of the year the first
of one of these courses of six lectures was delivered. The
subject of the lecture was " The Forces of Matter." Mr.

1857-59-] SUMMARY OF 1859. 275

Sopwitli arrived about fifteen minutes before three p.m.,
and found the room so crowded he had to sit down on
one of the steps. As the clock struck the hour the
lecturer appeared, welcomed by general and sincere
applause. A few graceful sentences of explanation and
apology for having been obliged by indisposition to
postpone the lecture from the 27th were followed for
an hour by a plain and purposely elementary series of
illustrations bearing on those phenomena of gravitation
which are wonderful when made subjects of contemplation,
but which, like all the vast and magnificent arrangements
common to constant observation, we are but too apt to
pass unheeded by.

SUMMAEY OF 1859.

In the summary of this year, 1859, Mr. Sop with enters
into a general epitome of the chief occupations and events
which came across his path and occupied his time. It
is a cheery little record. He rejoices in buoyancy of
health, in the enjoyment of as much of domestic com-
fort as can reasonably be expected, in the affection and
solicitude for his happiness which his " dear Anne " has
evinced in every possible way, and in the love of all his
children. He has been a great deal from home with
work divided between London and the North, and has
found his chief enjoyment in close attention to duties,
with consciousness of many imperfections from inevitable
want of power, and with some anxieties and distress —
shades of doubt and difficulty — which, like clouds, seem
to have passed away.

CHAPTEE XXVI.

RETURN TO ALLENHEADS. MR. DISRAELI. METEOR 0-
L O GICAL OR GANISA TIONS. FO UNDA TIOX OF UNITED
KINGDOM ALLIANCE. SIR JAMES KAY-SB UTILE.
WORTH AND MR. HENRY COLE. DEATH OF THE
PRINCE CONSORT.

1860-61.

N the year 1860 events ran on in the usual
course, unbroken by anything special until
February 22nd, when Mr. Sopwith com-
menced to take an active part in the
organisation of the great Exhibition to be held in
London in the year of 1862.

In company with a deputation, although he was un-
well, he waited on the Prince Consort at Buckingham
Palace, to explain the views of the Society of Arts in
regard to the Exhibition. Sir Thomas Phillips acted
as spokesman, and many points of organisation were
agreeably discussed.

In the early part of June Mr. Sopwith resumed his
residence at Allenheads, by a new arrangement made
with Mr. Beaumont. He does not seem to have relished
much the change from London life, for London to him
was ever a centre of attraction. On May 21st he was
again in London, and on the 22nd was in attendance at
the funeral of Sir Charles Barry, who was buried in
Westminster Abbey, close by Telford and Stephenson.

1860-61.] MR. DISRAELI. 2;?

On the 27th he paid a visit to Mr. Babbage, at the
well-known house in Manchester Street, and found that
learned man occupied in some analytical amusements,
one of them being the solution of an anagram. « I tore
ten Persian MSS." into "Misrepresentations."

This was a favourite amusement with Babbage. He
once gave an anagram to me after I had benumbed,
by local anesthesia, one of his teeth, that Mr. Matthews,
the dentist, might extract it painlessly. I think it was
the very same anagram.

On June 22nd 1 find a note relating to a dinner at
which Mr. Sopwith met Mr. Disraeli. He adds a note
relating to the oratory of the distinguished statesman.

^ "June 22nd, I860.— I dined with the Society of Arts at
St. James's Hall, Benjamin Disraeli, Esq., in the chair. He
spoke at great length on the origin of the Society above a
century ago, of the then state of the world, of subsequent
decline and decay until fourteen or fifteen years ago, of the
revival caused by attention to manufactures and commerce of
the Exhibition of 1862, and of examinations in country institu-
tions. On all these and similar topics he spoke well and in
great clearness of detail ; but I was particularly struck by the
repetition not only of subjects but words, so much so that it
appeared to others as well as myself to have been a tale thrice
told."

In the course of this year Mr. Sopwith occupied his
leisure in encouraging the Allenheads Rifle Volunteers,
of which corps he had been one of the founders. He
also projected a series of Meteorological Coast Stations,
an organisation which has proved of the greatest possible
value. On September 22nd and 26th the following notes
occur on this last-named subject: —

" September 22nd.— Occupied all day chiefly at the office, and

278 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1860-61.

occasionally with Mr. Glaisher, in the consideration of various
meteorological details, and conversation. Mr. Glaisher has been
unwell for the past two days. I obtained from him an account
of all his operations, and prepared in a tabular form a statement
of the various stations, of the instruments placed at them, and
of the names of the several observers. The following is an
epitome of the same : —

1. North Shields, barometer, thermometer, and rain-gauge.

2. Tynemouth, ditto, ditto.

3. Cullercoats, ditto, ditto.

4. Newbiggin, ditto, ditto.

5. Hauxley, ditto, ditto.

6. Amble, ditto, ditto.

7. Alnmouth, ditto, ditto.

8. Alnwick, thermometer and rain-gauge.

9. Boulmer, ditto, ditto.

10. Craster, barometer, thermometer, and rain-gauge.

11. Newton, ditto, ditto.

12. Beardnell, ditto, ditto.

13. North Sunderland, ditto, ditto.

14. Holy Island, ditto, ditto.

15. Spittal, barometer.

16. Berwick-on-Tweed, barometer, thermometer, and rain-gauge.

" September 26th. — I wrote a draft report on the North-
umberland coast stations, embodying the general results of
Mr. Glaisher's recent operations in that (meteorological)
service.

" The following are extracts from this report, which I reduced
to the form of a letter to Frederick Holland, Esq., for the infor-
mation of the Duke of Northumberland. In copying some
portions of this letter, I do so under distinct headings, which
are not inserted in the original, in order more readily to refer
to them, as well as to direct attention to the subject of each.

" I. Mr. Glaisher's Valuable Aid.

" This successful progress is almost entirely owing to the
services of Mr. Glaisher having been most promptly and

i86o-6i.] METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATIONS. 279

willingly rendered, not only in studying the best modes of
construction for the instruments and the requisite forms for
registration, but also by having at several interviews with me
in London, and for upwards of a fortnight in Northumberland,
devoted his time and his whole energies to the carrying out of
this useful work.

" Mr. Glaisher's great skill and untiring zeal have, I am con-
vinced, conferred very great benefits on science in general, as
well as upon the local interests more immediately concerned.

" II. Instruments.

" The barometers have been purposely planned by Mr.
Glaisher, so as to be plain, strong, easily read, not easily
injured, and as moderate in price as is consistent with the care
and skill required ; the makers, Negretti and Zambra, are well
known for the accuracy and excellence of their work.

" The Duke of Northumberland has been very desirous that
the instruments used should be strong, very plain, not easily
damaged in moving, and without any but the most plain and
practical indications, as also that they should in every instance
have been examined by Mr. Glaisher.

" III. Co-operation op Others.

" At Berwick we received every kindness from the Rev. G.
W. Hamilton, the vicar of that town, as also from the Rev.
Messrs. Irwin and Durham, and from Mr. Alex. Lowrey.
To Captain Popplewill also our thanks are especially due for
the very kind interest he has taken in the subject, and which
has conduced most materially to its success. The Mayor of
Tynemouth has, from the first mention of the subject, taken
a most lively interest in it. The Tyneside Naturalists' Field
Club, and the active secretary of that society, Mr. Mennell,
have most cordially united in giving their friendly aid, and
also subscriptions from some of their members.

" The present operations as commenced in Northumberland
appear likely to result in an extensive adoption of them in

280 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [i 860-61.

various parts of England, as examples of which I send copies
of a letter from Suffolk, and of my letter to the winter of it,
who dates on the 20th and 21st inst. A similar application
reached Mr. Glaisher from Torquay, for the express purpose
of aiding the fishermen there.

"IV. The Fishermen.

" But most of all is it gratifying to be able to state that
the fishermen generally along the coast have shown not only
a friendly reception of the instruments, but an intelligent
appreciation of their use, and I am glad to say that these
were evinced by expressions of gratitude and respect which I
believe to have been truly honest and sincere.

" V. Printed Forms.

" The requisite printed forms are in progress ; they are of so
plain and simple arrangement as to admit of being much more
easily attended to than the usual registry of observations pre-
pared for the Meteorological Society, which are adapted for
more minute details than it would be either useful or reason-
able to expect from gratuitous observers on the coast.

" VI. Indicators.

" Mr. Buddie, the joiner, is making other two forms of
indicators in conformity with the wish of Captain Washington.
The cost of these, and also of the indicator removed from High
House, will be met by the Admiralty.

" VII. Future Progress.

" Although I am unwilling to mention any suggestion that
may seem like an appeal to any further generosity on the part
of His Grace, I yet feel it consistent with the eventual success
of the plan to remark that another survey of the stations by
Mr. Glaisher in the course of a few weeks would be of great
service, and that some small annual expenses to meet breakage,
or in occasional visits to the stations, may be found indispens-

1860-61.] UNITED KINGDOM ALLIANCE. 281

able in addition to the general supervision which the Meteoro-
logical Society willingly undertakes.

"VIII. Eesults.

" In conclusion, I may beg to add in the most respectful
terms my best thanks for the kind attention which my com-
munications have received from the Duke, who, by encouraging
the present efforts, has, I am convinced, done great service to
a science as yet in comparative infancy, but which in its more
mature growth has in it the capability of unfolding many
important physical facts, bearing on the local conditions of
climate, on the cultivation of crops, on the planning of farm
labour, as well as on the foretelling of storms and on the
improvement of agriculture, not less than the safety of life
and preservation of property."

On October 25th we discover Mr. Sopwith taking
the lead in what has since become one of the greatest
social movements of the century, namely, the establish-
ment of the United Kingdom Alliance, and the incep-
tion of the Permissive Bill, for permissive legislation in
the sale of intoxicating drinks.

" October 25th. — I presided at a meeting this evening, the
object of which was to promote the objects of an association
called the United Kingdom Alliance, for the total legislative
suppression of the liquor traffic. Mr. Wilson, who attended as
agent of the society, gave a very clear explanation of the evils
resulting from the indiscriminate sale of intoxicating liquors.

"No doubt it seems on a first view a very unlikely plan to
bring into operation ; but the true point of view is to suppose
that it was carried into effect, and weigh the disadvantages
with the benefits. The latter, I feel assured, would very
greatly predominate. Indeed, the poverty and crime and
utter wretchedness caused by drink are beyond all calculation,
and justify any attempt to provide a remedy.

282 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1860-61.

" Within my own recollection a very great amelioration has
taken place in the drinking usages of society. Some further
improvements may reasonably be hoped for as education and
sound social reforms are promoted; but so long as it is the
custom to offer intoxicating drinks as an indispensable hospi-
tality, and so long as ale-houses are places of easy access and
of popular resort, it is hopeless to expect any important
diminution of the awful and alarming evils which now exist.

" As chairman I introduced the subject by a few general
observations of this nature, but without identifying myself
with specific details. If ever the question is really entertained
where I am interested as a resident, I should decidedly vote in
favour of it as a boon of inestimable value to the community
at large, and most especially so to the great bulk of the
labouring classes."

In the early part of 1861 Mr. Sop with read an im-
portant paper at the Meteorological Society on barometer
indicators. This was on January 16th; and on Sunday,
the 20th, he visited Exeter Hall to hear Mr. C. H.
Spurgeon, then rising towards the zenith of his repu-
tation. Mr. Sopwith's comments run favourably for the
the great preacher.

" Sunday, January 20th. — I went with Mrs. S., Mrs. Chris-
tiansen, and two of my daughters to Exeter Hall, and heard
the Rev. Mr. Spurgeon preach. I was much interested by
hearing for the first time so celebrated an orator.

" The first impression, after he commenced speaking, was
that of admiration of the clearness of his voice and the dis-
tinctness of his utterance. He maintained a seriousness of
manner, a high respectability of demeanour, an argumentative
and emphatic eloquence which is very attractive, and to many
minds must be very impressive. I had heard many accounts
from former hearers, most of them tending to the opinion
I am here expressing, and I was gratified to find that the

i86o-6i.] ADVENTURE AT ALLENHEADS. 283

extraordinary popularity of Mr. Spurgeon rests on a basis of
great talent and great earnestness."

The diary of February 11th records a little adventure
at Allenheads.

" February Uth. — The weather very stormy, and very heavy
showers of snow fall at intervals.

" To-day about noon Mr. Ralph Murray (one of the agents
in this office) and a mason lost their way on the moors. For
about six hours they wandered on the western slopes of the
mountains under the conviction that they were descending
the eastern side to Allenheads. Fortunately they arrived at
the vicinity of Carshield, and followed a road which took them
to Coalcleugh, where they remained, it being then past mid-
night, heavy showers of snow falling on the ground, already
about two feet deep, and many drifts of eight or ten feet in
height on the fells. At eleven o'clock at night my son Tom,
accompanied by twelve stout fellows, went in search of
Murray ; they followed the tracks over the various windings
from the top of the mountains to Carshield. As no tidings
could be learnt there, my son and six of the party (six having
gone in another direction) went to Coalcleugh, and arrived
there at five in the morning, and were glad to find the objects
of their search.

" In the meantime Mr. Bewick, who had sat up all night in
anxious suspense, gathered other twenty men, who, with him,
set off in search of the others, and met them soon after day-
break on their return."

Touching the origin and development of electric
telegraphy there is an interesting entry on March 21st,
1861.

"March 21st. — In the evening I dined with my excellent
friend Mr. Decimus Burton and a few friends. The conversa-
tion embraced many of the most advanced matters of science,

284 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1860-61.

and I had a very pleasant talk with Wheatstone on his new-
telegraph. By the new telegraph I mean the operations of
the ' London District Telegraph Company,' the wires of which
are rapidly increasing over the house-tops and across the
streets of this great city. A message of ten words is sent for
a, charge of fourpence (including delivery). Message and
reply of ten words, each sixpence. Message of twenty words,
sixpence.

" It would be a most curious catalogue, as I suggested to
Mr. Wheatstone, if he would draw up a list of his various
inventions. To him, in conjunction with Mr. Cooke, the world
is indebted for that greatest of all inventions, the electric
telegraph ; and the respective interests of each of these parties
were defined by a memorandum in 1841, drawn up by Brunei
(the elder) and Professor Daniell, with both of whom, as well
as with Cooke and Wheatstone, I had the pleasure of occasion-
ally meeting, as also with many others of the leading ' men of
the time,' with whom about that time the idea of a great
National Exhibition originated, the chief concentration of
that design being at the Society of Arts, where a committee
(of which I was a member) was appointed in 1844."

In the same month there is notice of an original
design for meteorological charts which deserves record.

" March 26^/t, 1861 . — This evening at seven I went by appoint-
ment to the Morning Chronicle office, where I met Mr. Glaisher,
Dr. Tripe, Mr. Beardmore, and Mr. Perigal, at a consultation
on some meteorological details connected with the establish-
ment of a new paper devoted to meteorology, as bearing upon
great commercial as well as scientific interests. One important
feature of this daily publication is to be a map, whereon, by
pictorial remarks, the state of the weather and direction of
the wind, etc., are to be shown. Much care is requisite in the
selection of characteristic signs, both with a view to convenient
and rapid manipulation, and also for the sake of the public,
who would be perplexed by any attempt at too much nicety of

1860-61.] LONDON SOCIETY. 285

detail. It is far more important to show the more prominent
indications plainly than to exhibit a great variety of states of
weather. The principal matters that concern the merchant,
the mariner, the farmer, or even the public generally, are
whether the weather is fine, dull, wet, or stormy. Nothing
shows bright or fine weather better than marks in a certain
sense pictorial, as showing a sun with rays, a disc of the sun
without rays, shade or clouds by oblique lines, rain or de-
scending clouds by vertical lines of greater or lesser strength,
and snow by its somewhat crystalline form of hexagonal radii,
rudely indicated by a cross, and arranged in lines. Each kind
of weather may thus have, say, sixteen varieties of direction
of wind, and the wind in each may be very slight or calm,
brisk, violent, or a hurricane, and these might be represented
by arrowhead-like forms, moved in any of sixteen directions.
There may thus be six varieties of weather, viz., (1) bright,
(2) fair, (3) dull, (4) showery, (5) rainy, (6) snowy ; and six
varieties of wind, (1) calm, (2) gentle breeze, (3) brisk, (4) a
gale, (5) violent, (6) hurricane. These make thirty-six varia-
tions ; and if each type were movable in sixteen directions,
we then have, with thirty-six types, as many as five hundred
and seventy-six variations, by placing them according to any
of the sixteen directions of the wind. This rough outline is
founded on the consideration of some of these details many
years ago. I mentioned them briefly, and proposed to ex-
plain them more fully next Saturday."

A propos of London society, he says, on the date of
April 25th,—

" April 25th. — The vicar of Newcastle and Mr. Woodall,
junior, of Scarborough, dined with me at six, — the vicar, frank,
hearty, and open, in general conversation, and Mr. Woodall
remarkably intelligent, and possessed of much information of
a very practical character. The company of one or two
agreeable friends is, in my opinion, quite as enjoyable, and
often more instructive, than a larger party, where conversation

286 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [i 860-61.

is cut up into shreds and patches, and cannot be long concen-
trated on any one subject. Both have their attractions ; but
in London the tendency is generally towards a large party —
by which I do not so much mean a great number, as ex-
ceeding the quiet limits of two or three. The boundary -line
between what I call large and small dinner companies is the
number eight, which is accomplished in a family by an addition
of two, three, or four to the usual circle ; and this I think is
the maximum of small parties in so quiet an establishment as
my own. To evening parties my objection is very great when
they are so numerous as to cause crowding and want of
ventilation. Such inconvenient and unhealthy assemblies are
unfortunately too fashionable to be wholly avoided ; but I
endeavour always to avoid them, to keep clear of what I
consider ' vulgar errors ' on so large a scale ; and my family,
knowing this aversion, assist in keeping me aloof from them.
At my own house I always desire ample space for dancing,
comfortable seats for all, and the endeavour to bring together
those who are likely to enjoy each other's society. I make no
allusion here to either dinner parties or evening assemblies of
the higher ranks. I confine my remarks to my own walk
of life, and I always rejoice when cheerful and kind feelings
appear to prevail among such friends as favour me with their
company."

Amongst the acquaintances whom Mr. Sopwith delighted
to recognise for Ms sterling qualities and great learning,
the late Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth holds a first place.
On May 3rd of this year he met Sir James and Mr.
John Simpson, together with his own son Arthur. Sir
James is here called upon to explain some mining con-
ditions, which he does with much skill. It afforded " a
good example to the youths, as showing how clear a
knowledge of technical subjects can be attained by an
intelligent gentleman who had not been professionally
educated on the subject. It also showed the conciseness,

1860-61.] SIR JAMES KAY-SHUTTLEWORTH. 287

yet abundant illustration, which marked the verbal ex-
planation of Sir James." The commendation is not a
word too strong. Sir James Kay-Shuttle worth, originally
Dr. Kay, was a man great in all things he undertook to
master. His experimental essay on asphyxia, written
while he was a young medical inquirer, showed an
originality and a resource of research which makes one
almost regret that even good-fortune took him out of
the ranks of practical medicine, and led him from
pursuits towards which, to the very close of his life,
his highest intellectual powers leaned ; as I discovered
with great delight, when I once had the pleasure of
dining in his company at the hospitable table of the
late Sir Thomas Watson.

The autumn of 1861 was diversified by a visit at
Alnwick Castle to the Duke of Northumberland, followed
by a tour in Italy, Switzerland, and France in company
with Mrs. Sopwith, and including an inspection of the
works in progress in the famous Mont Cenis tunnel.

They travelled two thousand five hundred miles in
twenty-five days, at the rate of one hundred miles a day,
and yet were able to see so much that the travelling was
felt to be the least part of the whole journey.

A good deal of the diary at this stage is taken up with
reports on the Nova Scotia Gold-mining Company, and
on the second Great Exhibition (1862), then in progress.
On the first of these topics public interest has faded ;
on the last it still remains.

The leading spirit in the Exhibition movement was
Mr. (afterwards Sir Henry) Cole, to whom Mr. Sopwith
pays a graceful tribute.

" December 7th, 1861.— Walked to the Exhibition buildings,
and reached the entrance just as Mr. Cole and a party of his

288 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1860-61.

friends were entering, and with them I walked through several
portions of the edifice, and had some conversation with Mr. Cole
on the present state and probable completion of the works.
' It will be done in time,' said Mr. Cole, and I have confidence
in his prediction, for he is one of those who accomplish much
in a quiet and steady way. Now a hint — now a few words —
now a resolution or a newspaper paragraph. These are the
first indications ; weeks pass on ; progress is being made, —
persevering, untiring progress ; and a footing is gained ; the
opinion of influential men is attracted ; that influence is brought
to bear. The germ of some great design appears in a humble
form ; it steadily increases ; and in a few years the dimensions
are vast, the utility (for in that lies the secret of the whole)
is made manifest, and in after-time Sir Henry de la Beche
and Mr. Cole will be assuredly recognised as founders of two
great institutions, or rather two designs merging into one.
The Museum of Practical Geology, and the South Kensington
Museum and its extensions (mark the words, for they are of
significance), will be lasting monuments of their skill and
untiring zeal in administrating to the great cause of improve-
ment in knowledge and taste."

The diary of the year concludes with several references
to the exceedingly painful event of that time, — the death
of the Prince Consort. The loss of this illustrious man
was felt by everyone, but by none, I think, so much as
by those who were engaged in scientific and artistic
labours, — labours which he had made specifically his own.
Mr. Sopwith, who had met the Prince personally, and
had conversed with him on subjects of equal interest
to both, was naturally much affected, and to the end of
his life never ceased to speak of the Prince without
expressing his earnest regret at his early death, ''just
at the time," he once observed to me, " when his great
knowledge was maturing into excellent wisdom."

CHAPTER XXVIT.

BRIGHT AND COBBEN. BISHOP COLENSO. CYRUS
FIELD. A SPANISH WORKMAN. A SPANISH BULL
FIGHT. TWENTY YEARS OF REMINISCENCES.

1862-65.

iN article written by Mr. Sop with for St. James's
Magazine, at the request of Mrs. S. C. Hall,
forms the first subject of notice in the year
1862. The article brought under review the
depressing incidents of a lamentable calamity, under the
title of " A Place of Darkness and in the Deep ; " but
it also dwelt on prevention of similar accidents, and on
the conservation of coal in reference to economy and
durability from a national point of view.

In March (the 10th) there is an account of an interesting
visit to John Bright, M.P., in which that distinguished
orator made an unexpected prediction. " If I had to
begin life again," said Mr. Bright, " I would certainly
choose the profession of an engineer. It is the engineers
who are doing the great work of the time ; they are
the true statesmen, and are guiding the destinies of
nations and of mankind by the influence of their works."
With this view Mr. Sopwith generally concurred.

A little later — namely, March 25th— he records the
particulars of an evening spent with Mr. Cobden, in
the course of which nearly all the subjects he — Mr.

19

290 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. L1862-65.

Sopwith — was most familiar with were touched upon,
but the most interesting topic was the Suez Canal.

" The Canal of Lesseps.

" March 25th. — Mr. Cobden was desirous to know if I
possessed any information as to this work. I described what
I had seen of the places and surroundings of it on board the
surveying-ship Tartarus when at Alexandria. Mr. Cobden
said Lord Palmerston's opposition on political grounds had
been the making of Lesseps. We had much conversation on
Robert Stephenson's opinion of it.

" ' He did not,' I said, ' consider it as absolutely impossible,
but as utterly beyond the pale of prudent commercial enter-
prise.' Mr. Cobden said he agreed in that, and alluded to
the difficult navigation of the Red Sea, the inevitable exor-
bitancy of tolls, etc.

" Mr. Cobclen's recollections of Egypt, the ascent of the
Pyramids, the character of the prospect from the Pyramids,
and his vivid recollection of the Nile like a narrow ribbon in
the midst of green plains, bordered on each side by the brown
desert, he described with much force.

" The Roman Wall was for some time a subject of lively
conversation. The name of Wallsend as associated with coal
and the Romans was new to Mr. Cobden."

As a juror of the National Exhibition of 1862, Mr.
Sopwith was present at the opening ceremony on May
1st. In the working of the Exhibition he took, all
through, a prominent part, suggesting many important
details for the consideration of the jurors.

1863.
A number of current details are touched upon in the
opening of the year 1863, including a scheme, unfinished,
for the formation of model workmen's homes ; an inter-
view with Mr. Brassey, whose society is always enjoyable,

1862-65.] BISHOP COLENSO. 291

— so open, genial, courteous, frank, and, withal, cordial and
hearty; a long conversation with Sir Charles Bright on
telegraphic communications ; the opening of the metro-
politan railways to the public on January 10th ; a visit
to Mr. Decimus Burton at St. Leonards, and a visit to the
Royal Institution to hear ( 'ardinal Wiseman lecture on
Science and Art. On February 10th, 1863, there is an
entry, of much interest to all his family circle, as well as
to many relations and friends, namely, the marriage of his
daughter Isabella to Mr. James Hall, of Newcastle, and
of his daughter Anna to Mr. W. Shelford, at Christ
Church, Bayswater.

March 4th gives us a little picture of Bishop Colenso
at an "At Home" given by Mrs. Hey wood. He considered
Colenso eminent as a mathematician, and from many
sides heard, even from those who were opposed to his
theological train of inquiry, the most favourable account
of his amiability. He describes the Bishop as tall, very
young-looking for a bishop, with an intelligent and firm
expression of countenance, and apparently a mild and
reserved disposition. In another entry the Bishop is
further described.

" April 1st. — In the evening I attended a meeting of the
Geological Society. After the meeting we had tea downstairs,
as in former times, and I had some conversation with Bishop
Colenso, Mr. R. Chambers and Mr. Ramsay also joining in
the same, which had relation to the works in winch the Bishop
is now engaged. Whatever differences of opinion may exist
thereon, I am satisfied that the Bishop is actuated by a stern
love of truth, and he expressed very feelingly how much the
conversion of the heathen nations is impeded by too rigid an
adherence to strict literal interpretation."

In April of this year Mr. and Mrs. Sopwith, with some
other members of the family visited the Continent, to see

292 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1862-65.

Mr. Thomas Sopwith at Aix-la-Chapelle, where he was
residing for his health. On his return he proceeded in
June to Mr. Hooper's works, to see the manufacture of
the Hooper electric cable. Towards the latter part of June
he was again on the Continent, visiting the Rhine and
passing into Switzerland. The journey was brief, and
early in July he was back to business, public and private,
including a more complete examination of Mr. Hooper's
Cable Works at Mitcham, and an attendance, in company
with Lord Brougham, at the Annual Meeting of the
Working Men's Club and Institute Union, over which
Lord Brougham presided, "and spoke very sensibly,
giving great clearness to his views by simplicity of
language and force of expression."

On July 18th we get a glance at another very interest-
ing man of science, Mr. Cyrus Field.

" July \%th, 1863. — I went to Regent's Park, and called on
Professor Wheatstone. Here I met Mr. Cyrus Field, and had
the great pleasure of hearing Mr. Wheatstone explain some of
his recent improvements in telegraphic communication, and
especially a method of transmitting from six to seven hundred
letters per minute. Mr. Wheatstone's obliging and clear de-
scription of all the various manipulations was a very great
intellectual treat.

" During this interview I took an opportunity of mentioning
the cable of my friend Mr. Hooper, and I read the results of
Bright and Clarke's experimental tests. Mr. Cyrus Field
expressed an earnest wish to see Mr. Hooper, and I wrote
to make an arrangement for their meeting on Mr. H.'s return
to town."

On August 26th, 1863, the British Association opened
for the second time at Newcastle, Sir William Armstrong
being president. This time a visit to Allenheads formed
one of the excursions. It was a wet day, and the Times

1862-65.] ATA SPANISH BULL-FIGHT. 293

called the excursionists "the dripping savans," but the
meeting passed off satisfactorily nevertheless.

1864.

In April and May 1864 Mr. Sop with made a journey
to the mines of Linares, and to various other places in
France and Spain. The journey extended through May,
and was full of incident, including a sketch of a bull-
fight.

"Seville, May 2nd, 1864. — I was unwilling to lose an oppor-
tunity of seeing that most renowned of all Spanish amusements,
a bull-fight — the more so as the bull-ring of Seville is the
largest in Spain, and the bulls of this district are said to be
peculiarly wild. Moreover, the performance was to be for a
charity. The Duke and Duchess of Montpensier were to lie
present, and the most eminent bull-fighter in Spain had
volunteered his services. So, having in the morning obtained
a ticket for the shady side of the balcony, in the first row, I
went at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 3rd, and was at once shown
to my seat. Two gentlemen alongside spoke sufficient English,
and were good-natured enough to explain to me the principal
incidents of one of the most remarkable scenes I ever beheld.

" I shall not here enter the details of a bull-fight, for I
should never read them but with horror and with deep sorrow.
Suffice it to say that, although I left long before the close of
the performance, I saw four bulls and five horses killed amidst
the plaudits of the admiring crowd of spectators. I shall not
presume on one single visit to be able to analyse what may be
merits or demerits. There may be some advantages which I
do not understand, and if there be none it seems difficult
to understand why the so-called amusement is so nationally
popular. I shall only record my own impressions : the sight
of the vast and eager company ; the introductory pageantry of
asking for and receiving the key of the ring ; the brilliant
dresses and brave demeanour of the chief artists, — all disposed
me to look on the performance so as to form a fair conclusion

294 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1862-65.

apart from all previous prejudice. I looked on with painful
interest — then with horror — then with shame, and I left with
very acute feelings of sorrow blended with astonishment, and
with a firm determination never again to be a willing spectator
of a Spanish bull-fight."

Much more pleasant is another entry of the same date
bearing on Spanish workmen, and of a visit to some large
works under the superintendence of Mr. Pickman.

" I was much interested by the several commendations which
Mr. Pickman made to me relating to Spain and the Spaniards
generally, and of this conversation I said to him that I would
enter a few memoranda in my journal, and this I do now :

" 1. Mr. Pickman strongly confirms the opinions I have
heard expressed by many, that the working classes of the
Spaniards make excellent workmen, that they learn readily
and willingly obey, that they are industrious, but have a
rough-and-ready sort of independence wbich has to be met by
patience, tact, and sometimes indulgence. In short, they are
easy to lead, but hard to drive ; and Mr. P. speaks of them as
workmen with much commendation.

"2. In twenty years, during which the whole of this concern
has been under Mr. Pickman's superintendence, he has never
had occasion to discharge a single workman for intemperance.

" 3. Mr. Pickman speaks most favourably of the honest
and honourable dealing shown by the great number of persons
to whom credit is given — often with slight means of correct
information as regards wealth or position or character. ' In
sixty thousand pounds of credit,' said he, ' we have not three
hundred pounds of bad debts.' These commendations of in-
dustry, temperance, and correct dealing in trade are valuable
testimony as coming from one like Mr. Pickman, who speaks
from a large experience as well as from a sound judgment."

By an entry in the diary dated July 14th, 1864, I find
that Mr. Sopwith was observing some experiments by

1862-65.] SPIRIT-RAPPING. 295

Mr. Redy in blowing up rocks at Allenhead with gun
cotton fired by electricity. The results appear to have
been satisfactory, and were a matter of great surprise to
the miners, who had hitherto blasted with gunpowder.
The experiments were repeated on July 19th, and with
still more success.

At this period what was called spirit-rapping was in
fashion, and the battle royal was being fought on the
subject between the men of science headed by Faraday
on the one side and the spiritualists on the other. Mr.
Sopwith was disinclined to accept the many claims that
were made by the spiritualists, but on September 7th he
was induced to see Mrs. Marshall, a " medium " living
at 10, King Street, Bloomsbury Square. " A spirit there
rapped out his own name and the maiden name of his
mother, the Christian name of his father, and the place
where he was born." Beyond stating what occurred, he
has nothing to say, no hypotheses to offer, only that he
could not believe there was any possibility of collusion.
He recorded no more than what he distinctly saw and
observed, and added that the seeing of this table move-
ment and receiving this seemingly mysterious communi-
cation did not produce any feeling different from that
with which one is accustomed to view any curious
experimental result.

On October 6th he was at the Mining Institute, Mr.
Nicholas Wood in the chair, when a paper which he sub-
mitted on the lead mines was brought under discussion.
After this he returned to Allenheads to receive the mem-
bers of the Gun-cotton Committee, who arrived there on
the 17th. This Committee, of which General Sir Edward
Sabine, F.R.S., was President, was well represented on
the occasion of the visit. Mr. Sopwith also was a member
of the Committee. In the latter part of this year he took

296 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1862-65.

up a London residence in Victoria Street, Westminster,
which residence he held until the time of his death.

1865.

In April 1865 he revisited Spain, spending some time
at the lead mines of Linares, where Mr. Thomas Sopwith,
jun., was residing. There is a note on May 1st of a ball
at Mr. Thomas Sopwith's, and several other entries re-
cording pleasant visits to Madrid, Barcelona, and other
famous places in Spain.

Under the head of reminiscences, bearing date of this
year, 1865, Mr. Sopwith gives the following epitome of
twenty years' experience of mining life at Allenheads.

The epitome forms a kind of simply-expressed auto-
biography.

" Reminiscences. — Twenty Years at W. B. Lead-mines.

" July 1st, 1865. — I was occupied until twelve o'clock last
night with papers relating to the inclosure of Allendale
Common, and thus ended the twentieth year of my connection
as Chief Manager of the W. B. Lead-mines. This morning at
nine I resume the study and carrying out of the usual routine
of my duties, and take an hour or two during the day to enter
a brief review of some of the more prominent circumstances of
the last twenty years.

"When, in 1845, I entered on the management I received a
friendly letter from the late Mr. John Taylor, in which he
spoke of the generally-received opinion that these mines were
nearly exhausted.

"An examination of details showed that expenditure in raising
ore was rapidly increasing, whilst no outlay was made on repairs
or improvements beyond such as were absolutely inevitable.
I was informed that my predecessor contemplated that actual
loss would arise during the first year of my agency, and these
were not only the discouragements of mining, they were
indicative of other and serious obstacles which were laid in my

1862-65.] MINING LIFE AT ALLENHEADS. 297

path, but to which I will not now advert in any detail. Many
of the parties who then moved within the sphere of action in
which my new duties lay have gone to their rest. I have
endeavoured wholly to forget whatever was unpleasant, and
more willingly dwell with satisfaction that feelings of friendship
largely predominated even where differences of opinion prevailed,
and I can find employment enough in tracing my own errors,
without finding it necessary to remember what I may have
deemed the errors of others.

" So far from being exhausted, the value of the produce of the
W. B. Lead-mines in lead and silver has approximated during
the twenty years to more than ,£500 per diem, and a fair
amount of steadiness of produce has been maintained, ranging
from eight to ten thousand tons of lead per annum. This is
the first and most prominent feature in this short retrospect,
and I shall now recapitulate some of the leading circumstances
to which my attention has been given, with a brief remark or
two in passing them under so hurried a review.

" By far the most important features of my early labours were
various works of exploration and improvement, for which I
obtained from the late T. W. Beaumont a special grant of
upwards of <£6,000 per annum.

" This liberality in beginning and continuing new works was
continued and largely exceeded by the present owner of the
mines, Wentworth Blackett Beaumont, Esq., and it would
occupy a volume to describe the various works in detail. The
very face of the country at and near Allenheads has been abso-
lutely changed. Old and ruinous and imperfect works have
been replaced by new and substantial buildings, machinery,
roads, etc., of the most improved construction. The deep
drainage of the mines at Allenheads was closely investigated by
me, with the valuable aid of Mr., now Sir William, Armstrong,
and the hydraulic engines placed in the mines by him met
with unqualified approval and high commendation from Robert
Stephenson and other competent authorities.

" A still higher testimony to |their value has been the

298 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1862-65.

uninterrupted efficiency of the work performed by them, and
the exceedingly small cost by which they have been kept in
repair, a merit which appertains to all the extensive works
of machinery which have been put up by the eminent firm
of which my greatly valued friend Armstrong was the sole
originator, and is yet and I trust long will be the greatly
honoured head and chief conductor. In the erection of the
various engines and machinery, and in the construction of all
the engineering works generally, the greatest and my warmest
thanks are due to Mr. Thomas John Bewick, who came to
me as a pupil, and has ever since either been directly in my
service or acting under me in the service of W. B. Beaumont,
Esq., as resident engineer of these important mines.

" New workshops on a very complete scale have been built.
A new crushing mill and improvements of the dressing floors
have resulted in a rich economy of labour, and an increase
of produce so remarkable that the percentage of lead now
obtained is the greatest in the kingdom, whereas when I came
in 1845 it was the least. In this alone has been an element
of value to the extent of several thousands of pounds yearly.
Great improvements were made in the reservoirs, and the
extension and renovation of Byerhope reservoir, estimated by
several experienced engineers as a work of =£2,000, cost less
than one-third of that sum, and this I mention as an index to
the comparative economy of many other works.

"In 1855 the Blackett Level was planned and commenced,
having during the previous ten years been more or less a subject
of consideration. The idea was not original, it was only an
extension, and in that degree an improvement on designs con-
templated long ago by my predecessor Mr. William Crawhall,
who in like manner was preceded (ninety years ago) by Smeaton
in his Nent Force Level. This great work has been continued in
accordance with the views entertained and the rate of expenditure
sanctioned by Mr. Beaumont, who has taken a most able and
lively interest in this undertaking, of which it is yet difficult
to form any accurate conjecture as to eventual success. The

1862-65.] MINING LIFE AT ALLENHEADS. 299

hydraulic engines on this work have heen much, and as I
think very deservedly, admired. In 1856, on my suggestion,
and indeed, as Mr. Beaumont kindly put it, at my request,
the opinion of Mr. W. Warrington Smyth * was taken on the
general character and prospects of the Blackett Level, and the
experience of ten years has not shown anything at variance
with the views expressed in a clear and, as far as it goes, a
very accurate report. In 1856 I had a correspondence with
Captain Collinson on the subject of boring rocks by machinery,
on which also Mr. Edward Beaumont when at Allenheads
expressed a strong opinion of its applicability ; but from time
to time the conviction has been forced upon me that in a large
concern like the W. B. mines it is better to adopt completed
and successful inventions than to institute those experimental
researches which, being in themselves very costly, are also for
the time being not unfrequently a positive hindrance rather
than an advancement of practical mining operations.

" Some interesting trials of boring machines have been made
in the last two years by the express desire of Mr. Beaumont,
and the results are not at this time sufficiently established to
enable me to say whether either of them will be especially
applicable to lead mining works.

"In West Allendale and in Weardale many works of
exploration and improvement both on the surface and in the
mines have been carried out. All the details of these works
were very accurately recorded in a series of reports, without
which I could not have retained any clear and long-continued
views relating to so great a number of operations conducted
in various parts of a mining district embracing more than two
hundred square miles of superficial area. It is in this method
of written instructions, memoranda, and reports that I have
been thought (although in a very friendly and considerate
manner) to have exceeded rather than fallen short of what my
duties might seem to require, and in deference to the opinion
of one who has the undoubted right to offer any such suggestions

* Afterwards Sir W. Warrington Smyth.

300 THOMAS SOPTVITH, F.R.S. [1862-65.

I have of late years relaxed, and to some extent entirely
abandoned, the attempt to preserve rigid and exact data of the
principal details. In so doing I have been more convinced of
the ntter inability of myself, or of any one person, to preserve
such written details, rather than of the inutility or impolicy
of the system, which appears to be almost indispensable in
multifarious concerns of great magnitude.

" The subject of education has had especial notice bestowed
upon it, both by the late and present owner of these mines. The
liberality of W. B. Beaumont in the building and supporting
good schools is beyond all praise, and I firmly believe as well
as hope that he and his family will reap a rich reward in
the virtue and intelligence which have been so ably diffused
amongst the people of this district. In referring to this
subject I must mention with special praise the efforts of Mr.
and Mrs. Fisher at Allenheads, from the commencement of
the school (1848) to the end of 1864, and much credit is due
to many others who have had charge of the schools so liberally
encouraged by Mr. Beaumont. The new and handsome schools
built at Allenheads, Carshields, Brideshill, and Newhouse will
remain a lasting monument of the zeal as well as good taste
with which Mr. W. B. Beaumont has promoted education in
these mining districts.

" When I came to Allenheads one small room sufficed for
an office. New and spacious and exceedingly convenient offices
have been built, and further additions, made to them a few
years ago, render them, as I think, absolutely perfect. In them
I have spent a large portion of my time, and the facility with
which I can at once refer to the several sub-agents and clerks,
and to their respective books, plans, etc., is very great.

" The well-being of the large body of miners and other
workpeople, men and boys (for no women are employed on the
mines or works of any kind), has had my constant and earnest
care. It is true some differences with the miners at Allenheads
led to a separation or ' strike ' of four months' duration (in
1849), but I gained the point at issue, viz., the observance of

1862-65.] MINING LIFE AT ALLENHEADS. 301

the terms of the bargains in respect of time, and a temporary
ill-feeling, and some acts of violence and of malignant censures
in newspapers, handbills, and songs, were soon replaced by a
friendly confidence which has ever since continued, and I trust
is not now likely to be disturbed. Important ameliorations in
the matter of wages, etc., were made, the comfort of the men
in many respects attended to, and above all a fair effort has
always been made to deal with them justly and equitably.
Neither in West Allendale nor Weardale has any interruption
of good feeling taken place, and as regards all of them I have
ever met them as friends, and have on many occasions received
from them the kindest testimony of approval. The establish-
ment of Improvement Societies in Weardale was for a time a
great benefit, and I can in many cases trace very distinctly
the highly favourable results.

"The roads in the district have been in many respects improved
during the last twenty years. In 1850 1 had a plan and section
of a railway made up East Allendale and Swinhope, and pre-
vailed on the directors of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway
to visit the district. It was too late — the Alston line had been
decided on, and the matter remained until 1864, when, on the
subject being named by Mr. Beaumont at a public dinner, the
public feeling was roused, considerable support was promised,
and soon after liberally subscribed. Surveys have been made
by Mr. Bewick, and the royal assent has been given to an
Act for making the railway.

" Much attention was given in the earlier years of my
agency to applications for ' tack bargains,' or workings out of
the ordinary routine, conducted by parties holding a grant or
lease for a term of years. The most important of these were
the working of lead ore in conjunction with iron stone, by
Messrs. Attwood & Company, and the driving an exploration
level at Fallowfield by Mr. Jacob Walton, and now, since his
decease, by his son and partner. The system, however, is
not found to be a convenient one for general adoption ; the
damage to private lands, the time and cost of preliminary

302 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1862-65.

meetings and of subsequent inspections and surveys, in most
cases far outweigh the probable advantages, and in cases of
entire failure these difficulties are often increased by unreason-
able delays or objections to a fair settlement.

" I have from time to time collected many printed and
written books and papers relating to mines. These are found
to be useful for reference, and the method might perhaps be
extended. I have also arranged a very capacious cabinet for
the collection and preservation of mineral specimens, to be used
as a place of study for the agents, and as a means of preserving
data relating to the discovery of mineral veins.

"The supply of materials for the mines has been gradually
brought into a form of great regularity. Printed order-books
have been introduced, and all orders now go from this (Allen-
heads) office, and are examined and signed by myself as well
as by the resident engineer. The drawing of work from the
mines, and the carriage of ores, lead, and of all timber and
other materials, has been also placed on a proper basis.

" There is perhaps no subject affording more gratification
than the great rarity of serious accidents in the mines during
the last twenty years. They average less than half a life per
annum, and that in a body of more than two thousand workmen.

" In a remote district like Allenheads the selection of proper
clergymen to attend to parochial duties devolves on the owner
of the mines, who is patron of the parish, and in some of these
matters I have been consulted.

" The engineering duties have been attended to by Mr.
Bewick, as already named, and for some years past (seven)
Mr. J. C. Cain has acted as general surveyor of the mines.
Among the numerous body of inspectors I must especially
record my regret for the recent loss of Mr. William Curry,
whose earnest attention to his duties and friendly regard for
all my advice and instructions I sball always remember with
respect. He is worthily succeeded by his brother, Mr. John
Curry, assisted by Mr. John Ashman.

" The taxes, highway and poor rates, are of some considerable

1862-65.] MINING LIFE AT ALLENHEADS. 303

amount, and a supervision of the several details is at all times
necessary. In cases where any difference of view has arisen,
I have had the good success to have my own propositions
approved and confirmed by the Commissioners of Stamps and
Taxes in London, and by the chief surveyors at Darlington and
Hexham, from one of whom I received a most complimentary
letter on the promptness and exactness of the W. B. mines'
arrangements in this department.

" The ' subsistence,' or money paid monthly on account to
the miners, was advanced from 7s. Qd. to 10s. per week, and
all the accounts and details of payment have been greatly
improved. The ' pays ' or settlement of the balances are now
made half-yearly instead of yearly, and all tradesmen are
regularly paid once a quarter instead of once a year. The
mode of letting bargains has also been gradually amended, and
the arrangements with the men are as far as possible based on
a desire to deal fairly with them, and to give them fair wage
for due work.

" The establishment of libraries has been a great benefit,
and there are now four of them, viz., at Allenheads, Coalcleugh,
Weardale, and Allen Mill. I take to myself any merit that
may belong to what I have called children's libraries, ac-
companying the ordinary collection of books, the object being
to afford young children a good selection and frequent change
of amusing books.

" Benefit societies have had a large share of my attention,
and by the very able assistance and kind co-operation of
Mr. Bewick both these and a benefit building society have
proved of great advantage. The liberality of Mr. Beaumont
has been most effectually bestowed in a proportional encourage-
ment of the Allendale Benefit Societies, by giving them dona-
tions yearly of 5 per cent, on the amount of money subscribed
in each year, and 2 per cent, on the amounts invested, thus
giving the members the advantage of full 5 per cent, interest
annually, as they receive 3 per cent, from savings banks or
Commissioners for Reduction of the National Debt.

304 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1862-65.

" At Allenheads there have been during the last ten years,
1856-1865, both inclusive, an average of 395-4 members, and
the increase has been from 314 in the first of the ten years
to 491 in the last. The average number receiving sick pay
has been 48*3, and the average time of sickness of each sick
member has been 12-2 days. The cash paid in the ten years to
sick members has been =£2,486 5s., and the average to each
sick member has been £5 2s. lid. Payments at death have
amounted to £220, making the entire payments £2,706 12s. Qd.,
or an annual sum of =£270 12s. 6d. The total amount ex-
pended in fifteen years since the commencement has been
£3,466 7s. 0±d.

" There is a difference in the amounts paid by the W. B.
workmen and by persons not employed in the mines and
works. I find this difference, taking five cases of different
ages, and ordinary rates, to amount to about lis. k\d. each
member (yearly), or £5 13s. 2d. in ten years.

" The value of Mr. Beaumont's contributions has averaged
in the same period nearly £20 a year in respect of the annual
contributions, and rather more than £40 a year in respect
of moneys invested, the total average being above £62 a year,
or in the ten years £622 7s. Sd. The value of this contribu-
tion to each member has been about 3s. yearly, or £1 10s. 10fc7.
in ten years.

"The inclosure of Allendale Common has been mooted at
various times, and some agitation has been promoted by
parties desirous to effect a division.

" In the cash transactions, which have been large, and
amounting in the aggregate to upwards of three millions
sterling, I have, during the whole period of twenty years, had
the great satisfaction of corresponding with the highly-eminent
house of Findlay, Hodgson, & Co., of London, and of enjoying
the friendship as well as confidence of the late John Hodgson,
long the senior of the firm, and a warm friend and zealous
promoter of the interests of the Beaumont family ; as also
of his sons Kirkman Daniel Hodgson, M.P. (recently

1862-65.] MINING LIFE AT ALLENHEADS. 305

Governor of the Bank of England) and J. E. Hodgson, Esqrs.
The extreme punctuality and exactness of all those transac-
tions has been a source of constant satisfaction, for it need
scarcely be observed how much financial exactness lies at the
very root of so extensive a mining and smelting concern.

" The landed property belonging to Mr. Beaumont, in the
mining districts of East and West Allendale, has been vastly
improved, many cottages have been built, lands drained, and
plantations reared. The area of the land estate in Allendale
has also been considerably augmented by purchases made froni
the profits of the mines.

"In the general financial business of these mines I have had
frequent occasion to spend much time at the W. B. Lead Office
at Newcastle, where, for many years, I had the valuable and
skilful aid of my much lamented friend, John George Anderson,
and, in later years, I have found Mr. Fothergill most kind and
attentive, as well as most assiduous in the discharge of his
duties.

" In legal matters I have had the advantage of consulting
several solicitors who were my personal friends as well as
professional advisers of the Beaumont family; and, I may
mention the names of Donkin, Stable, Armstrong, Bell, Dees,
and I. and R. Gibson. All my recollections of them are
associated with much respect for their courtesy and candour as
well as for their legal ability.

" The ordnance survey of this district has been made within
the period I am now adverting to, and a very great number
of surface and mining plans have been constructed in this
office under the immediate care of Messrs. Bewick, Coates,
Ridley, and others, acting under my general directions.

" I venture to say of these plans generally that they are
models of excellence, and they accurately delineate what has
been most carefully surveyed. These plans have been of great-
use in many respects, both in mining and in many surface
improvements.

" The retrospect of the last twenty years is not wholly

2U

306 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1862-65.

destitute of incidents more allied to military than to mining
matters. Amongst these are to be classed the numerous
experiments in gun practice by Mr. (now Sir William) Arm-
strong; the experiments on gun-cotton by the Government
Commission (of which I am a member), and the establishment
by Mr. Beaumont of a regiment of Rifle Volunteers, commanded,
in the first instance, by my son Thomas Sopwith, junior, and
since he left Allendale by Mr. Bewick.

" There are many other incidents I might mention, such as
the effectual repairs of Allenheads Chapel (to which I willingly
contributed one-third of the cost), the regular keeping of
meteorological observations, the Exhibitions of lead and silver
in London in 1851 and 1862, and in Paris in 1855, at all of
which medals were awarded in recognition of the interest of
the objects exhibited; and, though in 1862 I could not (as a
juror) receive the awarded medal, yet it was specially named,
and I received a medal as a juror in Class I. of that great
Exhibition.

" In concluding this little epitome I may observe that
during ten years I resided in the house built by the late
T. W. Beaumont in conformity with arrangements made
before I undertook to give up my profession and undertake
the agency. The scale of dimensions and expenditure were at
first meant to be included in an amount of =£4,000, which
entirely met my views; but, by the special instructions of Mr.
T. W. Beaumont, the matter was not placed within my control,
and the cost, I believe, exceeded double the above-named sum.
During two years previous to its completion I occupied the
house in the village, so that my period of residence has been
twelve years, and of partial residence eight years. Of the
latter period my family abode has been for seven years in
Cleveland Square, and one year in Victoria Street, London.

" There is nothing in all my remembrances of this twenty
years' period that I record with greater pleasure and gratitude
than the great amount of domestic happiness I have enjoyed
at Allenheads, and in my London home, as also amongst

1862-65.] MINING LIFE AT ALLENHEADS. 307

many most valued friends at Newcastle and elsewhere. True
it is that dark shadows fell upon my path in the middle period
of that time. Time, which softens the pangs of affliction, has
only given strength to all my memories of devoted affection
and of worth, which were duly and very highly estimated by
all who knew the truly good and loving mother of all my
surviving children.

" The death of my eldest son in India, not long after I came
to Allenheads, was a very sudden, but a very heavy, blow,
alleviated by some considerations arising from the fact that
in his mind, a highly accomplished one, there were tendencies
which had caused his friends and himself much sorrow, and
no one could say whether in a longer life the good or evil
tendencies would most have prevailed. Of all my other
children I have only to speak in unmeasured terms of affection
and approval ; and in like terms I have to commend her who
has become the partner of my life, the sharer in my joys and
sorrows, the active, intelligent, and agreeable companion of
my travels, and the affectionate friend and adviser of my
family. In a wide circle of friends it would be most difficult
to make any selections, but I may mention the names of
Robert Stephenson, Robert Chambers, Michael Faraday, and
James Pillans, as honoured visitors during my abode at
Allenheads. The warm and steady friendship of William Ord,
of Whitfield, was for many years a great source of enjoyment,
and his beautiful house at Whitfield was one in which I spent
many days with much, and always increasing, regard for its
worthy inmates. Amongst those in whose society I have found
a congenial feeling and candid reciprocation of views I may
mention James Sillick, T. M. Mackay, and Robert Simpson j
and to these I might add a large number of my friends whose
opinions and character I most highly esteem.

" Last and not least, but, on the contrary, held by me in
constant remembrance and regard, are the many, I may say
the almost daily, proofs of confidence and friendly feeling ex-
hibited towards me by the late and present owners of these

308 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1862-65.

mines, the late Thomas Wentworth Beaumont, and his son
Wentworth Blackett Beaumont. Some few differences of
opinion arose eight years ago ; and in these, perhaps, my own
impatience was at fault, even though I deemed myself safe in
the judgment of so able and impartial a person as Robert
Stephenson ; yet these little passing clouds have been of small
import as compared with the steady and solid friendship shown
to my son as well as myself, and in return for which a steady
devotion of my best efforts is due. I had almost forgot to
mention, as one of those proofs of confidence, the important
arrangements whereby my son was enabled to make a mining
tour through Europe, and to be placed in charge of valuable lead
mines in Spain ; but this is because my present observations have
reference chiefly to Allenheads and to circumstances connected
with it. In these few pages I have inserted such memoranda
as recall to my mind many leading incidents, many important
improvements, and many sources of enjoyment, during the
period of twenty years which have been chiefly spent at
Allenheads, at which place, on this the 1st of July, I have
entered these memoranda.

" {Signed) Thomas Sopwith."

Towards the close of the year 1865, November 22nd, Mr.
Sopwith presided at a meeting held to establish colliery
insurances.

The diary of the year 1865 ends with entries referring
to a very pleasant task, that of arranging the library in
the new house, 103, Victoria Street, Westminster.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

SIXTY -THIRD BIRTHDAY. ANATOMY OF STRIKES.
FOREIGN WORKMEN. FURTHER REMINISCENCES.

1866-69.

SPECIAL entry in the diary on January 3rd,
1866, is headed, "My Birthday, and Friends
at Dinner." It supplies a little commentary
on the sensation of entering the sixty-third
year, the close of the third section of three maturities.
It then passes to describe the dinner, at which were
present Mr. Robert Chambers, Dr. and Mrs. Priestley, —
the last-named, the beautiful and accomplished daughter
of Mr. Chambers,— Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Cubitt, Mr. W.
Warrington and Mrs. Smyth, Mr. T. M. Smith and Mrs.
Smith, Mr. Julian Hill and Mrs. Hill, and the Sopwith
family circle. Speaking of some of these, he says : —

"January 3rd. — Mr. T. M. Smith was associated with me in
professional matters about twenty years ago, and I had known
his excellent and kind-hearted mother some time previously.

" Mr. Julian Hill is one of the well-known family which has
gained world-wide renown by the Penny Postage Reform
effected by Mr. (now Sir Rowland) Hill, whom it has been
ray good fortune to know very intimately, as also Mr. Arthur
Hill. With Mr. Julian Hill I have been long and very inti-
mately acquamted, and have often experienced the hearty
hospitality of his amiable lady and himself.

310 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1866 69.

" Such, therefore, was my birthday party — realizing much
of that true wealth of friendship and regard which I have
treasured through life with an anxiety which has never been
bestowed upon mere worldly wealth, although not insensible
to the duty as well as the advantage of a reasonable attention
thereto.

" The term of sixty -three years is an interesting one. It
completes three periods of twenty-one years, and each of these
periods has been singularly marked by material differences as
regards my home, my occupations, and my connections. The
first period, from 1803 to 1824, was entirely spent at home.
It was in 1824, when twenty-one years of age, that I left the
home of my birth, my infancy, my childhood, my boyhood, and
my ripened youth. In that year also I became engaged, but
could not then with prudence contemplate marriage in less
than four years. Then, in 1828, I married, and in 1829 lost,
in a few short months, both my father and a beloved wife.
In 1831 I again married her who became the mother of all
my now surviving children. For other fourteen years I was
most actively engaged in my profession at Newcastle, London,
Gloucestershire, South Wales, and in other parts of England
and Scotland. I acted as Commissioner for the Crown for
Dean Forest from 1838 to 1841, and undertook some extensive
professional services in Belgium, where I had as colleagues the
well-known George Stephenson and William Cubitt.

" I had offices in London and in Newcastle, and my time
was a good deal directed between these places. I enjoyed over
the greater part of this period the intimate friendship of John
Buddie, of Dr. Buckland, and of many eminent men in various
departments of Art and Practical Science.

"In the third period, from 1845 to 1866, I have had
the chief agency of the W. B. Lead-mines belonging to
the Beaumont family, and during twelve years resided at
Allenheads. The last nine years have been nearly equally
divided between Allenheads and London, living for seven
years in Cleveland Square and two in Victoria Street, West-

1866-69.] ANATOMY OF STRIKES. 311

minster, where I am celebrating the day on which all these
three periods culminate in what is called The Great Climacteric
of Life.

Under the date of January 4th, 1866, the diary contains
a long entry on a discussion at a dinner at Mr. Peter
Graham's ; Mr. Owen Jones and Mr. Rontledge being
present as well as Mr. Sopwith. In the morning of the
same day Mr. Sopwith had had a very agreeable tSte-d-
tete with Mr. Delane, editor of the Times, to whom
he jocularly communicated that he also had become a
newspaper proprietor, namely, of the Hexham Courier; and
at the dinner in the evening various subjects of current
social and political interest came up. The subject of
Reform was now on the tapis, and the great speech of
Mr. Bright at Rochdale came in for review, with a
glance at the ballot. Mr. Sopwith urged for universal
voting " on the proportional basis, say in pounds sterling
of actual taxation." To this Mr. Graham objected that
would never do, because " wealth does not represent in-
telligence." " Then does poverty ? " asked Mr. Sopwith;
" is it not almost entirely by industry and intelligence
combined that wealth is accumulated ? "

The anatomy of a strike was another of the subjects
discussed, in which Mr. Sopwith detailed his own
practical experience of a strike, assigning as an almost
invariable cause the persuasive arguments of one or
two individuals who influence the mass. Thence the
debaters passed to modes of providing good and healthy
homes for all working men. To secure cleanliness of
person and improved dwellings were the two great
reforms required. For this organization alone was
wanting. The work would be one of pure self-support
as regards money; and the appropriation of all profit

312 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1866-69.

above 5 per cent, to the increased comfort and accom-
modation of the inmates would, Mr. S. was persuaded,
soon make dwellings won by wages investments as solid
as the public funds.

On March 6th of this year, at the instance of Mr.
Walter, Mr. Sopwith gave evidence before the Com-
mittee on Education, over which Sir John Pakington
presided. The inquiries made of him were chiefly
directed to the difference between certified and uncer-
tified teachers, as to more extended means of education,
and as to the teaching of religion in schools. On this
latter point he suggested the inculcation of plain and
jwactical matters of duty, without entering into the
details of doctrinal points. He further suggested that
educational commissioners representing the Government
ought to be a moving body, and not to be stationary in
London. They should be persons who would give the
greater 2iart of thtir time and attention to education in
different parts of the kingdom, and acting under them
there should be local commissioners. Local rates ought
also to be established, the funds from which should be
supplemented by grants from the Central Department.
Referring to the Allenheads School, he said it was so
good his own son went to it with advantage.

On April 27th there is a touching reference to the
decline of the illustrious Faraday, who, after his lecture,
was obliged to leave leaning on Professor TyndalPs
arm : " If anything could strongly impress the transitory
glories of an earthly state it is surely such a scene
and such an association."

In the middle of June of this year Mr. Sopwith began
to experience what he called " some symptoms of central
failure," for which he consulted the late Dr. Bence Jones,

1866-69.J TOUR ON THE CONTINENT. 313

who Wrote to him on June 20th, telling him that his
heart wonld not bear the strain he was putting upon it.
He thereupon, with his usual common sense, determined
to measure his work as well as his time, and take things
more easily. In July he paid a visit to the Isle of
Wight ; in August he went to Harrogate ; and afterwards
to the British Association at Leamington. Between
October 4th and 19th he made a tour with Mrs. Sopwith
on the Continent of Europe. In his notes he dwells
with much satisfaction on two or three particular events:
the marriage of his son Thoinas, on March 1st, to Lydia
Gertrude Messiter ; his completion of twenty-one years'
supervision of the works at Allenheads, and, most agree-
able recognition, a letter from Mr. W. B. Beaumont,
congratulating him on attaining his majority at Allen-
heads, and asking his acceptance of a picture of Wark-
worth Castle, by Richardson, a picture he had once much
admired. On July 5th he notes that he made his Will,
the provisions few, simple, easily understood, and easy
to be carried out.

1867.
The diary for 1867 contains some matters of interest,
although less crowded with details than that of any
preceding year. A touching reference to the death of
the Dean of Hereford, and a delightful recognition of
the early literary efforts of Frank Buckland, son of the
distinguished Dean of Westminster, stand well out.
Several pages are devoted to the description of an
arbitration on electric affairs, between Messrs. Hooper
and Elliott, in which Mr. T. Brassey and Mr. Sopwith
were the official arbitrators. In May the scene changes,
and a description is given of a visit to Paris and the
volcanic district of Auvergne. On August 25th there
is an entry dated Saltburn, in which reference is made to

314 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1866-69.

a letter " from my son Tom," respecting the skill of
foreign workmen at Moresnet. " Everything about the
mines there is really a long way ahead of England, and
it is a great pity it should be so ; but the next generation
will find it out if we do not." On this Mr. Sopwith
makes the following comment : —

" All this is in accordance with the opinions which, in the
last few years, have been forced upon me (rather than adopted)
from observation of Continental as compared with English
progress. At the root of all is education, — not only education
of the head, but of the hands. I am much afraid that in this
most important particular England is not only not keeping
pace with the Continent, but is receding, whdst other lands are
advancing.

" When, about twenty years ago, I had occasion to consider
the red-tape system of the National School, as carried out at
Allenheads, I met the generous support of the late Thomas
Went worth Beaumont, Esq., in replacing it by a school based
on a generous desire to extend and promote useful education
(which support was much increased and extended by his son,
W. B. Beaumont, Esq.). I thought the system of administra-
tion of schools by Government in many respects defective, and
subsequent and larger experience of it has strongly confirmed
this view. The present Government system appears to me
to be needlessly complicated, to entail a vast amount of useless
correspondence on trivial points ; and in all this correspondence
there is a transparent fallacy which deprives it of the great and
essential feature of truth. Each letter professes to be written
as by authority of the Lords in Council forming the Committee
on Education ; and that it should assume this character of
Government authority is proper. But in matters of trifling
detail relating to a floor, a fireplace, or other petty altera-
tions or repairs, or to the defective reading or writing of a
few scholars in a small country school, it seems to be uselessly
magnificent to say that ' My Lords ' disapprove, or ' My Lords '

1866-69.] THE NATIONAL SCHOOL. 315

expect so and so. The opinion which professes to be that of
then- Lordships is often based, as I have had some opportunities
of observing, on a very cursory examination, and without much
inquiry. At certain schools, where fire-brick floors have been in
use for periods of from ten to eighteen years with comfort and
satisfaction, ' My Lords ' consider them cold in winter, and ask
that they be replaced by wooden floors. In like manner the
examination of teachers for country schools appears to be most
unsatisfactory in operation. Of three excellent teachers two
were rejected, and as I have had for many years a good
opportunity of knowing their proficiency in study, their
diligence in teaching, their great respectability of character,
this rejection, based on paper returns apart from personal
observation, has appeared to me a gross injustice and a serious
impediment in the way of Mr. Beaumont's generous efforts to
promote good schools. In all this I believe England is really
far behind some other nations. I cannot but think that, how-
ever useful centralization may be, and I believe is, in such a
matter, yet it ought to be accompanied and supplemented by
much more of local observation and local influence than are
generally brought to bear on the subject. Local rates, local
supervision, and compulsory education, may, I believe, be
accomplished if a due regard is had to the requirements of the
case. Gardens, fields, workshops, may become accompaniments
of properly conducted public schools. In these at certain hours
instruction in gardening, in farming, in mechanical pursuits,
might be blended with instruction at other hours in reading,
writing, and other studies. For such work food might be
given, food cooked by pupils, and the relief of poverty might
thus go along with the removal of that fearful amount of
ignorance which, by continued accumulation, must end in
national disaster. Under existing systems, both of schools
and colleges, of workshops, farms, mines, and manufactories,
it is only in exceptional cases (and these brought about by
legislative measures) that training in industrial occupation and
mental instruction go together.

316 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1866-69.

" There seems no reason why heads and hands should not be
alike trained from an early age — the fatigue of bodily exertion
relieved by mental study ; the confinement and bodily inaction
of study relieved by active and useful exercise.

" This is the direction which education must take if it is to
enlist the sympathies and secure the cordial support and co-
operation of the great mass of the people."

In August (28th) there is a comment on the able
memoir and leading article in the Telegraph, on the
" late Professor Faraday." Of this illustrious philosopher
Mr. Sopwith never could say too much, although all that
he said was in such good taste and feeling that Faraday
himself might have heard it without a blush. Faraday,
on his part, was equally pleased with his generous friend,
whom he would, after lecture, invite to the simple family
supper, in which bread and cheese formed the staple
of the refreshment. In September (the 30th) Mr. and
Mrs. Sopwith visit Sir "William and Lady Armstrong
at Oagside. They drive to Rothbury and Thropton,
where some new schools have been opened, and where,
in accordance with arrangements previously made, Mr.
Sopwith gives a lecture on Education, and Sir William
exhibits some beautiful electrical experiments. The
visit gave great delight, notwithstanding the " awful
punctuality " which prevailed in everything.

On November 26th, 1867, Mr. Arthur Sopwith took
his departure for India.

1868.

The opening passages of the diary of 1868 give rise to
some reflections which show in an expressive way the
gentle tone and quality of their author.

"January \%th, 1868. — In writing these few remarks, on a
quiet Sunday evening, I cannot but reflect on the soothing and

1866-69.] FURTHER REMINISCENCES. 317

agreeable influence which is exerted by the objects around me.
They seem to provoke, as it were, a sentiment of gratitude and
contentment; to separate the mind of anxious cares; and, look-
ing back on the past, I find some sources of comfort which I
fain store for the future. That, however, is hid in darkness.
Time only will slowly draw the veil and disclose events whether
for good or seeming evil ; whether of continued health and
comfort, or of infirmity and anxiety. All that is hidden, and
wisely hidden, and it only remains to humbly hope that my
enjoyment of the future may correspond with my content and
thankfulness for the past.

" I pursued, for some time, this train of thought. It was
in harmony with all around me. In arranging the contents
of the drawers of my writing-table I came upon the first
railway section I had made (part of Newcastle and Carlisle
Railway surveyed by me in 1825), and many plans, lectures,
and reminiscences of the most active period of my life. They
recall much to my memory, and suggest longings for the same
ardent and active life I then led. But this cannot be, and I
feel that continued health can only be preserved by giving up
some of the long hours, close writing, and active energy of
younger years."

Under a later date some similar reminiscences convey
a similar portrayal of the man.

"February 12nd, 1868. — I resumed my usual occupations
in my office at 103, Victoria Street. The various matters
which require attention at the W. B. Mines fully occupy the
time usually devoted to business ; and not only so, they intrude
on other hours, early and late, and when I review the number
and extent of such business affairs I feel how important it is
that such attention should be given. This prominence, which
it is alike my duty and my interest to give to business affairs,
has not entirely excluded the love of science and art, but it
has prevented my giving either to them or to literature that
devoted care which can alone secure eminence, and my coming

318 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1866-69.

to Allenheads nearly twenty -three years ago rendered it
absolutely necessary that I should forego the chances of dis-
tinction which the pursuit of science, art, or literature may
lead to. My position in society has, from my birth and early
progress, been essentially that of business. My acceptance of
the W. B. Mines agency caused my retirement from the Council
of the Institution of Civil Engineers ; and attention to its duties
was also the cause of my leaving the Councils of the Geological
Society and the Society of Arts. To none of these could I
possibly give the attention due to them. I willingly give up
all ideas of the honours due to those who can give more time,
and who also bring to such duties a higher amount of intel-
lectual energy and accomplishment than I can lay claim to.
If, therefore, I see many who, some thirty or forty years ago,
were my juniors raised to an elevated rank in their respective
professions, I can heartily join in approving and admiring the
industry and talent whereby they have achieved success. Work,
hard work, has been the only road by which they have won
their way ; and work, hard and unremitting work, has been
my only means of discharging duties connected with extensive
mines and numerous people under my direction. Indeed, when
I consider how much the task of actual labour was, in my
early years, an absolute necessity, I rather see some reason for
surprise that I also found leisure for what may be deemed
intellectual pursuits apart from business occupations.

" My love of drawing was a means whereby I could be
useful to two of the most eminently gifted men in the north
of England — Hodgson and Surtees, the historians of Northum-
berland and Diu-ham. And this not only procured me their
acquaintance, but their friendly offices ; and it was not a little
gratifying to me to be occupied in illustrating works which
were adorned by the highly artistic productions of Edward
Swinburne and of Edward Blore. I had also the friend-
ship of many artists, and when thirty years of age I was
urged to become President of a society of all the principal
artists of my native town. Music was also a great enjoyment ;

1866-69.] FURTHER REMINISCENCES. 319

and, although I never learnt it as an art, yet I indulged in
amateur performances, which had their culminating point in
the performance of an entire service in the Church of St.
Nicholas, in Newcastle. In architecture, which I had studied
ouly as an amateur, my first attempt in composition gained
a prize and much commendation. In engineering, civil and
mining, I won my way with great satisfaction through many
undertakings, which brought me into competition or contact
with many leading men of the time. My surveys in Alston
Moor made me well acquainted with lead mining, and introduced
me to John Taylor, certainly at that time the head of mineral
mining. A road which I projected from Newcastle to the
Scottish Border, on the way to Edinburgh, was preferred to
one which McAdam had proposed ; and in railways I had many
years of successful practice, and an acquaintance with nearly
all the eminent men who carried out the vast systems of rail-
ways in the last forty years.

" My connection with public societies has been a source of
great enjoyment, and in several cases has originated in a
manner which I remember with pleasure. It was my good
fortune to be proposed at the Institution of Civil Engineers
by Telford, the founder and first President, who volunteered to
do so. My introduction to the Royal Society was first suggested
by the then President, Lord Northampton. I have been a
Member of the Council of the Geological Society, in the Society
of Arts, etc., and President of the Meteorological Society, as
also of many local societies in the north of England.

" My business occupations have been throughout life of a
nature congenial to my tastes, and it is now approaching to
a quarter of a century that I have had extensive charge of
mining concerns in the very districts where I first commenced
my professional duties — a boundary line only separating Allen-
dale and Weardale from Alston — where I went forty years
ago.

" My occupations have been varied by travels in various
countries, in Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Prussia,

32o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1866-69.

France, Spain, and Egypt ; and, above all, in addition to the
comforts of home I have enjoyed the friendship of many
eminent and greatly esteemed men.

"All these (and I might add many more agreeable re-
membrances) form an aggregate which I suppose to be much
above, rather than at all below, the average enjoyment of life
amongst the members of what may be called the middle classes,
and, at all events, I look back to the retrospect of them with
fervent gratitude to the Giver of all good.

" I look back on many sad shortcomings, on wasted opportuni-
ties, on infirmities of purpose, and on neglect of duties. Every-
one who honestly looks into the past must, I fear, see much to
regret, and much that would bear amendment. Of each other
we cannot judge, for all the data on which a true decision can
be formed are hidden from us ; but of ourselves we are bound
to analyse our secret motives as well as outward actions.

" In the multitude of blessings I have enjoyed I am desirous
to acknowledge the great and unfailing goodness of God, and
humbly desire that, amidst all the cares and anxieties which
may occur in this ever-changing scene, I may repose an un-
failing trust in the continuance of that goodness."

In the spring of the year, May 5th, Mr. Sopwith
took Lantern House in the Isle of Thanet for four months,
where, with some members of his family, he passed an
agreeable vacation. During this time his son Arthur,
who had returned from India, set out for Brazil.

The visit to Thanet was continued until the early part
of September, when Mr. Sopwith started for another tour
through Central Europe, in company with Mrs. Sopwith.
Of this tour he has published a concise little volume,
beautifully illustrated throughout : a summary of it,
therefore, is alone required.

In the course of this journey visits were paid to Brussels,
Prague, Aschaffenburg, Nuremberg, Franconian Switzer-

1866-69.] REFLECTION ON PARTY POLITICS. 321

land, Baurberg, Leipsic, Dresden, Saxon Switzerland,
Freiburg, Berlin, and Potsdam. The return was made
on September 30th, when work was resumed in the usual
form. On October 12th there is a note relating to a
subject on which Mr. Sopwith often spoke, and almost
with enthusiasm, the goldfields of Nova Scotia. He was
of opinion that a great field for enterprise was open in
this direction, and in the entry to which reference is
made he says : —

" October 12th. — I completed some notes on the Nova Scotia
gold regions, to which the attention of Messrs. Shelford &
Robinson has been drawn, with a view to Mr. Robinson going
out early in November to inspect a property at Lawrence
Town, known as ' Werners,' and comprising upwards of two
hundred acres which have been partly explored, but which
would require larger capital to develop the deeper portions of
the veins or lodes. Gold mining has made a steady progress
in Nova Scotia, and the evidence adduced with reference to
this property appears to be worthy of attentive investigation.
In Memorandum 117 I have noted such points as seem to
require attention."

On November 25th he adds an interesting reflection
on party politics.

" November 25th. — I learnt from the newspapers that Mr.
George Elliot headed the poll yesterday, Sir H. Williamson
being second, and Mr. J. L. Bell not elected.

" It is really absurd to hear the exaggerated terms in which
extreme party men speak of each other, as if difference of
political view necessarily indicated more or less of moral
depravity. In my own path I avoid as much as possible all
connection with extreme party views. Well has ' party ' been
defined, ' the madness of many for the gain of the few.' It
really amounts almost to a species of temporary insanity in

21

322 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1866-69.

many persons of humble position, whose zeal would be equally
great on one side or the other according as accidental circum-
stances have thrown them more in the way of one candidate
than another. Nor is it at all an uncommon incident for me
to meet with patriotic and liberal candidates denouncing the
absolute robbery and jobbery enforced on them in a ' liberal '
candidature. Some of the most consistent and advanced
members of the Whig parties gradually became far more
conservative, restrictive, and reserved, than the most extreme
Conservative of the present time ; and among the much-abused
Tories I have known men of the most exalted and refined
liberality and usefulness. Indeed, I scarcely see any line of
demarcation between a Conservative Liberal and a Liberal
Conservative, and that both parties shoidd have their political
creed tempered and moderated there is no doubt."

1869.

A note on February 14th, 1869, describes a visit
to a home which everyone remembers for life who had
the pleasure of entering its doors, namely, Maryland
Point, Stratford, the residence of the late accomplished
and earnest Sir Antonio Brady. " In few houses," says
Mr. Sopwith, " is there a greater number and variety of
curious and instructive objects than at Maryland Point.
A good collection of plants, a remarkable set of gigantic
fossil bones, a fine collection of minerals, with paintings,
drawings, books, and microscopes."

On March 8th a tour commenced to Paris, Cannes,
Mentone, Geneva, Genoa, the marble quarries of Carrara,
Pisa, Leghorn, Lucca, Florence and Bologna, Modena,
Parma, Nice, Montpelier, Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencia,
Linares, Madrid, and Biarritz. The journey altogether
was one of extreme pleasure, and afforded ample instruc-
tion of a scientific as well as of a social character. He
returned to England on April 27th.

1866-69.] MRS. SOMERVILLE AND LAPLACE. 323

An entry on June 30th, made at Durham, is interest ing
in regard to a presentation to Professor Chevallier.

" June 30th. — At ten I attended service in the Cathedral.
I called on the Rev. Professor Chevallier, who resides in one
of the stately and comfortable residences immediately under
the shadow of the western part of the Cathedral, and command-
ing a most charming view of the river and of the woody banks.
Here I found several friends of the Professor, who had come —
as I also had done — to congratulate him on the well-won honour
about to be conferred on him by the public presentation of his
portrait, and among them was my much esteemed friend the
Venerable Archdeacon of Lindisfarne, and his young and very
beautiful bride. We accompanied the Professor from his house
to the Castle, and in the ancient dining-room, amidst a very
large concourse of clergymen, ladies, and gentlemen, the portrait
was formally presented."

On July 15th he was gratified by a kindly letter
from Mrs. Soinerville, in which that scientific lady
expressed her opinion in favour of gun-cotton for blasting-
purposes over its rival nitro-glycerine. She considered
gun-cotton the safer explosive.

In August there was a Congress of the Mechanical
Engineers at Newcastle, before which body Sir William
Armstrong delivered a characteristic address. The
members of the Congress visited Allenheads and received
a cordial reception.

In November (28th) one or two anecdotes relating to
Mrs. Somerville and Dr. Bnckland are neatly told.

" When Mrs. Somerville was introduced to Laplace he
complimented her as the authoress of the ' Connexion of the
Physical Sciences,' and as the second most learned lady in the
world. ' I give ' (so I understood him to have said) ' the first

324 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1866-69.

place to Mrs. Grieg.' It was under this — the name of her
first marriage — that Mrs. Sonierville had performed her great
work, the translation of the very abstruse and elaborate
' Mechanism of the Heavens,' by Laplace.

"Of Dr. Buckland one or two anecdotes are listened to
with attention and amusement, such as his comment on Mrs.
Probyn's picture of the Queen, ' Deplorably like.' Another is
as follows : ' Soon after the Great Western Railway opened
some attention was called to the inclination of the Box Tunnel
being nearly in the same direction as the bedding of the strata,
by which very thin wedge-shaped edges would, by exfoliation
and the action of the air, become liable to be separated and
fall down, which separation might probably take place during
the vibration which accompanies the passing of a train through
a tunnel. On this subject Dr. Buckland made some observa-
tions at a meeting of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and
this was followed by comments in the Times and other papers,
by which the matter obtained some degree of public attention.
About this time an elderly gentleman was travelling in a
first-class carriage between Bristol and the Box Tunnel, which
latter place the train was approaching. Several persons were
in the carriage, and the conversation turned on the alleged
danger of the roof of the tunnel. A smart young gentleman,
who sat opposite to the gentleman already mentioned, said
there was no danger, and freely ridiculed the nonsense which
Dr. Buckland had uttered and written upon it. " So ignorant
is the Doctor on the matter that he does not even know the
shape of the tunnel, for he wrongly describes it." " You appear
to be well acquainted with the subject," said the elderly gentle-
man to his youthful informant. " Yes," was the reply, " I am,
and ought to be, for I am one of the engineers employed on
the line." " Is this, then," said the elderly gentleman, " the
shape of the tunnel 1 " at the same time exhibiting a drawing
of it on one of the pages of a memorandum-book. " Oh dear
no ! " said the youth, " nothing like it — that's the shape Dr.
Buckland has described, and he is all wrong, he knows nothing

1866-69.] NEW YEAR DAYS. 325

about it." " Well," said the elderly gentleman to the passengers
who were listening, " I suppose we must pay great deference to
this young gentleman, as he is an engineer on the line, and
perfectly well acquainted with the tunnel. At the same time,
let me say I am Dr. Buckland, that this sketch was made
expressly for me this morning at my request, and that the
engineer who kindly drew it for me in my memorandum-book
was Mr. Brunei." ' "

At the close of this year and on the first day of the
next year, Mr. Sopwith makes a curious series of memo-
randa of forty-seven New Year Days, namely, from
January 1st, 1824, to January 1st, 1870, each day com-
mencing- a New Year, and reminding him of nine different
homes, viz., (1) Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, 1824-32; (2)
Loaming House, Alstou, 1825-29 ; at different places at
home and abroad from 1830-34 ; (3) Carliol Street,
Newcastle, 1835-37 ; (4) St. Mary's Terrace, Newcastle,
1838-47 ; (5) Allenheads, 1848-49 ; (6) 17, Northumber-
land Street, Newcastle, 1850-52 ; (7) 1, Ridley Place,
Newcastle, 1854-56 ; (8) 43, Cleveland Square, London,
1858-64; (9) 103, Victoria Street, London, 1865-70.

CHAPTER XXIX.

A TOUR IN ITALY. MEMORIAL TO EDWARD POTTER.
DEATH OF MRS. SOMERVILLE. E. W. COOKE, R.A.
THOMAS TATE, C.E. THE HOOPER ELECTRIC CABLE.

1870-73.

5N the spring of 1870, Mr. and Mrs. Sopwith
visited Italy, spending some time in Naples,
Rome, Florence, Bologna, Milan, Verona, and
Perugia, and visiting the ruins of Hercu-
laneum and Pompeii.

Under date of March 14th we have a final picture of
Mrs. Somerville.

"March \ith. — We went to Sorrento and visited the house
in which Tasso was born — viewed the ancient walls, etc.

" We spent the evening with Mrs. Somerville, with whom
I had a long and agreeable conversation. At length came
the hour of parting, perhaps for ever in this world, but we
live in hope ; and if spared in health and comfort it may
be that another spring may find us again at Naples. We
have seen much, but much remains to be seen, and all we have
seen would well bear revisiting. We bade adieu with all the
affection of old and sincere friends, and that this sentiment
is mutual and reciprocal is to me a source of the highest
gratification.

" Mrs. Somerville is now in her ninetieth year, and not only
retains her memory and a fan* share of good health and mental
vigour, but is able to devote attention to the re-editing of some

1870-73.] A TOUR IN ITALY. 327

of her former works, and takes a lively interest in all that is
passing. Fnll of kindness and amiability, of intelligence, of
cheerfulness, of hospitality, and as much of goodness, simplicity,
and truth as I have ever known combined in one character,
she enters freely into conversation upon any topic that
happens to be named. Many of her anecdotes are of personal
reminiscences, such as her intimate acquaintance with Sir
Walter Scott and others known only by their memories to
many of the present generation.

" Our chief object in visiting Naples was to visit Mrs.
Somerville, and most amply has this been carried out, for
during a stay of less than a fortnight we twice called and saw
her on afternoons, we spent three evenings from eight until
near eleven, and dined with her and her family circle twice ;
dinner at six being followed by a few hours of most agreeable
conversation. Very imperfect is the homage which any words
of mine can express, compared with the inward homage of the
deep respect and esteem which I entertain for her in my
heart of hearts."

On Lady Day, being in Rome, he gets a view of the
Pope.

"Friday, March 25th. — This being Lady Day is a great
festival in Rome ; every shop is closed, and evidences of universal
holiday meet one in every street. It is an annual custom on
this day for the Pope to go in state to the ' Church of the
Minerva,' as it is commonly called, and thither we went
immediately after breakfast. After waiting an hour in the
midst of a dense crowd in the centre aisle of the nave, we saw
the procession, and had an excellent view of the Sovereign-
Pontiff, as he slowly passed immediately in front of where we
stood. He wore the golden triple crown and robes of white
and gold. The throne or chair of state was carried by men,
and thus elevated, the whole of the Pope's person could be
seen. He is a portly, benignant-looking, and well-conditioned
looking personage, and appears remarkably stout and well for

328 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

his advanced age. It added much to the interest of the
occasion that the King of Naples, the Corps Diplomatique
(in state costume), and many archbishops and bishops, were
present."

The return from Rome to England was made in the
middle of April, and entries of every-day life continue,
of little moment until August 23rd, when the marriage
of Miss Emily Sopwith to Mr. William Hollis Luce
is reported. The ceremony took place in St. Margaret's,
Westminster.

On October 30th a picture of Mr. Holman Hunt's,
called " Isabella, or the Pot of Basil," for which his
son-in-law, Mr. James Hall, had given two thousand
pounds, is commented on. He says of it : —

" It is admirably painted, yet it would be the merest
affectation in me to attempt to pronounce any opinion of its
merits. In the first place the subject generally does not enlist
my favourable sympathies ; there is nothing great or noble or
even virtuous in a woman giving way to excessive and useless
grief. As a representation of the female figure, and of the
female face especially, I do not seem to discern either beauty
or intelligence. Hunt is a great painter, popular and fashion-
able, and that the picture is really very valuable I have no
doubt. Unable at present to see in it such attractions as
would have induced me to give even one-tenth of the price, I
reserve all expression of opinion of its merits until I shall have
seen it a number of times. Repeated inspection is the true
test by which inexperienced observers can judge. The con-
noisseur can at once decide, but to less critical eyes a really
good picture seems on each repeated visit to present some new
point of merit, some hitherto unnoticed charm, and to this test I
trust I may be able to submit this curious and costly work
of art."

I87O-730 DEATH OF MR. BRASSEY. V9

An entry a few weeks after this date records the death
of his old friend, Mr. Thomas Brassey.

"Saturday, December 10A, 1870,-1 read with much concern
in the Times a notice of the death of my greatly honoured and
respected friend, Mr. Thomas Brassey, at the comparatively
early age of sixty-five years. Of him most truly may it he
said, ' A good man has gone to his rest.'

«It cannot but be a matter of deep regret that one so
eminently useful, so remarkably successful, so truly benevoent,
and so charmingly agreeable in his manners and conversion
should be so soon and so suddenly removed from the sphere
of his extensive and prosperous labours. I shall ever re-
member with satisfaction many opportunities I have had ot
enioying the society of Mr. Brassey since my first meeting with
Mm at the house of Mons. Paulin Talebot in 1856 I have
often enjoyed his cordial hospitality, have had the pleasure of
receiving him as a guest at my house, and have also been
associated with him in some professional matters. Every
interview and every transaction inspired one with increased
esteem and regard for his frank, hearty, straight forward, and
sensible conduct. His memory will be honoured by all who
knew him."

1871.
In the early part of 1871 a return of indisposition led
Mr Sopwith to feel the necessity of retiring from active
life, and resigning the important agency he had held so
Ion-. He had now been engaged fifty years in profes-
sional work, and felt that it was time to cease. The
death of his friend, Robert Chambers, on March 17th,
at the age of sixty-nine years, affected him very much
and led him to think that if the writer of the < Book of
Days," and of other important works, succumbed, with his
rich powers, at so comparatively early an age, it would
be wise for himself to be more careful of such strength

330 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

as remained to him. To the note referring to Robert
Chambers he appended a few words relating to the
brothers William and Robert Chambers, to the effect that
in his long acquaintance with them he had arrived at a
firm opinion that they will, in the estimation of posterity,
occnpy a larger space in the history of their times than
they have attained amongst their contemporaries. So
far they have been prominently before the public in
their business capacity in the publishing department,
which condition had kept out of view, in no small
degree, the remarkable — one might almost say astound-
ing— breadth and vigour of mind displayed by both the
brothers in their various original works.

The retirement is recorded by Mr. Sop with as follows : —

"June 30th, 1871. — At length the day has arrived when,
according to the arrangements mutually agreed upon as be-
tween W. B. Beaumont, Esq., and myself, my term of agency
expires — this day, Friday, June 30th, completing twenty-six
years of service as chief agent of the W. B. Lead-mines in
Northumberland and Durham.

" I examined bargain sheets, and signed receipts for sub-
sistence, ,£5,156 18s. 2d., and at half -past nine this evening
I make the entry at the close of my chief agency of the
W. B. Mines."

On July 19th, 1871, a presentation was made to him,
originated by the body of miners and other workmen of
the W. B. Mines. It included an address and a magni-
ficent silver tankard, two elegant stands for flowers or
fruits, three Grecian figures, and an elaborate writing-
desk. The day of presentation was spent as a general
holiday. The account of this hearty recognition ends
with a description of the way in which he parted from
a place he had occupied so long.

1870-73.] THE PASSION PLAY. 331

"At 3 p.m. I left Allenkeacls in my own phaeton, and
had the company of Mr. Thompson and Mr. Cain as far as
St. John's Chapel. The band of the 7th Northumberland
Volunteers played a tune or two ending with the ' "White
Cockade' in front of the carriage a short distance along the
road, and thus I made my farewell parting from a district
which for more tban a quarter of a century has been very
much a home in the way of residence, and which has had almost
the sole occupancy of my thoughts, so far as professional matters
are concerned, in relation to its important mining interests. I
leave it with many deep emotions — esteem for my many friends
prevailing over all other feelings."

As was common with Mr. Sopwitli after any important
event of his life, he paid a visit to the Continent. This
time, accompanied by Mrs. Sopwitli, he made his way to
Bavaria, in order to witness the Passion Play as it was
then performed, and which he thus describes : —

"August 26^/j, 1871. — I commenced this Journal (No. 131)
in the upper room of a small but comfortable and picturesque
cottage in the village of Ober-Ammergau, in Bavaria, to which
place my dear Annie and I have come this day, as have
vast numbers of people, with the intention of witnessing the
now celebrated performance called the Passion Play, which is
appointed to be performed in this village to-morrow.

11 August 27 th. — At half -past seven we went to witness
the performance of the now far-famed Passion Play at Ober-
Ammergau, which commenced exactly at eight in the morning
and continued until near five in the afternoon. The exact
duration of the play was eight hours and a half. That an
audience of not less than six thousand persons should sit in
profound silence and attention during so long a period is
perhaps as striking a proof as any that can be adduced of the
interest it excited; and I am satisfied that this attention was,
if not universally, yet in a very large degree, clue to feelings of

332 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

sympathy and reverence for the subject of the representation.
If there were in this or any former occasions of the performance
any exceptions to this remark I have not heard nor read of
them ; whilst on the other hand I have met with many written
and verbal opinions strongly concurring in the respect and
reverence as well as admiration which the performance is
calculated to excite. I do not here attempt to base this on
the peculiar history of the Passion Play, further than to
observe that it originated in fervent piety, and is continued
under the powerful influence of a strong religious feeling.
Viewed in this light it appears to me to present one of the
most extraordinary examples of dramatic representation that
the world has ever seen, and certainly no public performance
that I have either seen or heard of in modern times has excited
so much attention. The Derby Day in London, the races at
celebrated places in English provinces, and public pageants and
ceremonies, no doubt attract thousands and tens of thousands
of admiring spectators ; and in large cities many occasions arise
where a much greater number of people are assembled : but it
is not so much in the number of spectators as in the character
of the performance and of the performers, as well as in the
nature of the locality, that we find reason to be astonished ; and
the more these elements are duly considered the more profound
must be the impression of surprise and admiration.

" The performance aims at a representation of some of the
most profoundly awful and important events recorded in the
annals, whether sacred or profane, of the civilized world. The
death of Christ on the Cross, and the attendant circumstances
immediately preceding it and following it, have exercised an
influence on the destiny of nations, and of individuals of every
class, far beyond that of any other event ; for, whatever may be
the differences in dogmatic beliefs or in the adapted creeds, or
mental inferences as to details of doctrine and the observance
of ceremonial worship — the one great fact stands out pro-
minently before all others, that in the sufferings and death of
Christ all that is precious in the enlightenment and improve-

1870-73.] THE PASSION PLAY. 333

ment of mankind has its origin. Such is the character of the
performance, such the events which form the subject of the
Passion Play as performed at Ober-Ammergau.

" Such being the lofty aim of the performance — an aim, it
might be supposed, far beyond the powers of the most able
dramatic performers — let vis now consider who and what are
the persons by whom the attempt is made. Truly by none
other than the very class of persons who, as humble peasantry
or the followers of some industrial occupation in the humble
walks of ordinary village life, are so clearly delineated in the
Scriptures as the founders of Christianity. The inhabitants of
a small village in the midst of mountainous recesses aspire to
represent the personal aspect and demeanour, as well as the
historical conduct, of Christ and His Apostles ; and so far there
is a seeming fitness that characters and events relating to
humble life should be represented by persons of corresponding
meekness and lowliness. But in the Passion Play the peasant
villagers of Ammergau represent some of the great ones of the
earth — men of pomp and power in the exercise of high authority,
and in this they succeed in a degree which can only be duly
appreciated by witnessing the performance."

1872.

On March 10th of this year a very interesting letter
reached Mr. Sopwitli from Mrs. Soruerville, still at
Naples. It is a characteristic document. Mrs. Somerville
accuses herself of being a lazy correspondent, but she
never forgets her early and valued friends. She is sure
that Mr. Sopwitli is as active as ever, and that Iris
Journal has been continued with all the originality and
profound thought which characterised the parts of it
she had the pleasure of reading. She expresses herself
warmly on the universal and enthusiastic loyalty mani-
fested on the recovery of the Prince of Wales, which
shows that we are in no danger of revolution. She is

334 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

very deaf and weak, but still reads without spectacles,
and keeps herself up to what is going on in the scientific
world, esr^ecially the mathematical; and, as she drives
out every good day, her time passes very pleasantly. Mr.
Sop with' s reply to this letter, equally characteristic,
appears in copy in the diary.

" March 23rd, 1872. — In writing to Mrs. Somerville yester-
day I replied in some detail to her kind inquiries as to the
health of my family and myself, and I here insert one or two
passages of my letter.

" 'Although I am only a youth of sixty -nine, I begin to think
that hills are steeper than they were forty years ago ; that
books are in smaller print ; that people don't talk so clear and
loud as they used to do, and that miles of walking are a little
but not much increased in length, for I manage seven or eight
miles without fatigue, and last autumn walked down the Rigi
from the very summit to the base at Weggio.

" ' I continue my Journals, and vol. cxxxv. is lying before me.
1 find much amusement and perhaps even some instruction
both in writing them and in reading clear records of occurrences
since I was eighteen. I thus again seem to travel to Alston
in 1824; to meet there with Trevelyan, Pillans, and others;
to climb mountains, and plunge into mines. In 1829 I was
superseding McAdam, and my line of road (Newcastle to
Edinburgh by Carter Fell) is adopted in preference to his ; and
thus from year to year I can follow every movement, and rejoice
in the rich luxury of many valued friendships, yours among
them, but I cannot condense them in the compass of a letter.

" ' I delivered your message to General Sir Edward Sabine
and his good lady ; the former hearty, well, and vigorous ; the
latter very cheerful, but has recently suffered from cold and
cough. Both of them delighted to hear of you. ... I some-
times amuse myself in considering the problem we had some
talk upon, i.e. of perspective intelligence capable of following
with instantaneous rapidity the remote regions of space, and

1870-73] LETTER TO MRS. SOMERVILLE. 335

perceiving, as by parallel rays, isometric images of objects
irrespective of distance and viewed in any selected ratio as to
past and present. Passing in one moment from earth to a
star (a position), to traverse the distance of which light requires
a thousand years, such an intelligence may now view the
defeat of the Danes at Ashdown (871); Stonehenge would
wear the modest antiquity of three hundred years ; after twelve
years Alfred would be seen in 884 improving London ; and,
after thirty years Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the West.
Taking a stretch backward of seven or eight hundred years of
light's travelling, Pompeii and Herculaneum would be seen
in all then- magnificence. A flight equalling three thousand
years of light, and we see Cheops building his pyramid. But
six thousand nine hundred years of light would be required to
see a newly-discovered Egyptian monument which Sir William
Armstrong saw, bold and clear in colour and inscriptions, and
a clear chronology of six thousand eight hundred years. Then,
at any time a retracing of the path back to the earth, with
continuous observation of rays of light met on the way, would
represent six thousand years in six hours, in six days, in six or
sixty years, according as our intelligent and perceiving atom
willed its flight. I named this to our good friend Owen, who
rejoices in the hope of seeing all his stud of big beasts in full
vigour.' "

Under date of April 16th he records : —

"The marriage of my dear son Arthur to Catherine Susan
Shelford at the Church of St. Matthew, Upper Clapton, on
Tuesday, April 16th, 1872."

In a later entry there is a most pleasurable account of
a visit to the late Mr. E. W. Cooke, R.A., a report which
all of us who knew that illustrious artist will willingly
endorse as photographic of the man.

" May 10iA, 1872.— Whitsuntide was spent at Glen-Andred,
the residence of the well-known artist and Eoyal Academician,

336 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

Mr. E. W. Cooke, and of his mother and sisters. The pleasure
with which I had looked forward to this visit was more than
realized, nor will it be forgotten as long as any powers of
memory remain in a mind which is so disposed to treasure up
all recollections of worthy and greatly esteemed friends, and
of beautiful and romantic scenery. The general conduct and
disposition of our host are such as to have gained him the
esteem of all who know him, but it is in the happy sphere of
home life that his worth and amiability are most fully developed.
For his artistic talents T have the highest admiration, and
much as these are known and appreciated by the public and
throughout Europe, yet it is only in his home that anyone
can become fully acquainted with the merit, the variety,
and astounding number of his productions. It is not alone as
an artist that Mr. Cooke's attainments are remarkable. He
is possessed of much scientific knowledge, together with a
large share of general information ; and of natural history his
acquaintance is very extensive, more especially as regards trees
and plants and flowers. He is a most devout and cheerful wor-
shipper in the temple of Nature. In his character of host
he greatly excels. Every possible comfort is provided by the
unweaiying assiduity of his worthy mother, his sisters and
himself. Every wish seems to have been anticipated, and
hence our stay of three days was one continuous round of
enjoyment.

" At noon on Monday our party — consisting of Professor
Owen, Mr. Cole, Q.C., and his lady, my dear Annie and myself
— was increased by the arrival of Sir Antonio Brady, whom I
had the pleasure of introducing to Mr. Cooke a few months
ago. In the evening, Lord De la Warr was one of the party
at dinner.

" It would be difficult, I think, to imagine in three days a
more pleasant combination of circumstances than those by
which we were surrounded. All the charms of friendly
hospitality, of accomplished skill in art and science, romantic
scenery, and all the delights of a happy English home.

1870-73.] DEATH OF MR. TATE. 337

"We returned to London on Wednesday, May 22nd, 1872."

The death of Mr. Tate, with whom he had been on
terms of close intimacy for many years, on July 3rd,
leads to a special series of notes in the diary.

" July &th, 1872. — I received a card informing me of the death
of my dear and good old friend, and formerly a much loved
and instructive companion, namely, Thomas Tate, O.E., of
Warrington. He died on July 3rd, 1873, aged eighty-one
years. It is now half a century since I was on terms of inti-
mate acquaintance with Mr. Tate. He entertained very liberal
views, so broad indeed as to offend my early impressions, the
more so as I thought his mode of speaking somewhat satirical ;
but this failing is one into which I have often fallen, and I
think it quite possible, and even probable, that my own errors
in this respect have been far graater than his.

" On looking into my Journals written nearly fifty years ago
I find some entries relating to this excellent, clever, and large-
hearted man.

"On January 7th, 1824, in mentioning Mr. Tate as one of
the speakers at a debating society in Newcastle, I find the
remark of his being ' very ingenious, uncommonly mild and
even accomplished in his manners, agreeable in person, and
intelligent and logical in argument.' Again, in April of the
same year, I speak of him as being ' the ablest speaker and in
every respect the brightest ornament of the society ; ' and
again, about the same period, I wrote as follows : 'To a
very candid and amiable disposition are added very extensive
attainments, possessing considerable mechanical and scientific
knowledge, which he communicates with great plainness and
sweetness of manner, an agreeable smile relieving the dryness of
philosophical disquisitions.'

" When employed all day he sometimes, at his rooms in the
Low Bridge, Newcastle, had classes, to whom he gave lessons

22

338 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

in geometrical and architectural drawing. His proficiency
in such drawing, and especially as applicable to oblique
bridges, opened a way for him in the more important and
profitable department of civil engineering, in which, during
his long and active and most useful and prosperous life, he
has not only been extensively employed, but also gained the
warm friendship and entire confidence of several of those chiefs,
George Stephenson among them, who were then commencing
the great railway works which now abound in all England, as
in every other civilized nation.

" In the last few years I sought an opportunity of renewing
our former friendship. I paid two or three visits to his
hospitable abode, and had the pleasure of . seeing him at my
house in London.

" He retained in old age all that pleasing expression which
I have mentioned as being so conspicuous when he was about
thirty yeai-s of age. I have seldom if ever seen a happier old
age, and now at a year over fourscore he sleeps the sleep of
death. Of so inevitable an event at so ripe an age the general
sentiment of his friends must be that of rejoicing over his well-
spent life rather than of lamenting its close."

On July 26th, d propos to a proposed memorial to
Mr. Edward Potter, Mr. Sopwith wrote to Mr. W. A.
Potter (Cramlington), giving his views concerning the
proposed memorials of the late Edward Potter. He
thought that a clock and peal of bells would be ex-
tremely suitable for such a memorial. They are for
all time, and day by day and night by night their
sound is going forth with impressive eloquence, deeply
suggestive to thoughtful minds.

The small hours of morning indicate the time when,
with watchful vigilance, the mines are examined to ensure
the safety of workmen (not always grateful for heroic care);
and this duty in early life devolved on Edward Potter.

l87°-73-] MEMORIAL TO EDWARD POTTER. 339

Early hours of rising and the breakfast-hour precede
the midday chimes, reminding one of many a livelong
day of arduous duty. At noontide and at midnight,
hours of brightness, hours of gloom, will the bells
remind one of chance and change in the life of a brave
and good man. When wedding bells peal forth a joyous
feeling they will tell of one who, in his family circle,
often was present at such festivities ; and when sadder
tones tell of more mournful missions, they will, to many,
recall the remembrance of Edward Potter having been
buried in the presence of many thousands. Some of
these in life had opposed him during the period of
unreasoning and tyrannous strikes, but in his death all
truly mourned the loss of a true friend. Larger crowds
may have gathered to view the pomp of royal obsequies,
or the funerals of a Nelson or a Wellington; but few
persons in the class of peaceful citizens have been
buried in the midst of so large and so truly sorrowful
a multitude. And thus the clock and its homely chimes,
and the bells in more prolonged melody, may from day
to day, from year to year, and even from century to
century, be an ever-speaking monument, and a worthy
memorial, more especially on Sundays, when "the sweet
chimes proclaim the hallowed day."

Mr. Sopwith also suggested that each bell should
have upon it Mr. Potter's name and some appropriate
inscription. These will be as permanent as the bells
themselves, yet in a lofty tower not often read. He pro-
posed, also, that on the face of the clock there should be
placed the initials E. P., with the years of his birth and
death, and on the inner walls of the church a marble slab,
whereon should be inscribed, " On the bells of the tower
of the church are the following inscriptions," etc., etc.

In September and October Mr. and Mrs. Sopwith

34o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

revisited the Continent, taking in their route Cologne,
Heidelberg, Vienna, Prague, Carlsbad, Ratisbon, Wurz-
burg, and Brussels. He returned on October 13th to the
usual routine of home life in retirement.

He rose soon after eight o'clock, and breakfast at nine,
preceded by a short service of prayers, at which the
servants and family attended, spent an hour in reading
the newspapers, and remained until one o'clock in the
office — as he, from long use, called his library — engaged
in writing and correspondence. The afternoon was
variously occupied, sometimes at the desk, at other
times in exercise and recreation, or in visits to
Kensington Museum or the Athenaeum Club. Dinner took
place at seven, and the evening, for the most part, was
devoted to rest, conversation, and sometimes a game of
whist or dominoes. He found abundance of occupation
in correspondence, in reading, and in referring to journals
and other data of former days. His duties as Director
and Secretary of the Spanish Mines Company, and
various other matters, furnished him with as much business
occupation as he could undertake with due regard to
the injunctions of his medical advisers against anxiety
and over-exertion.

On November 13th (1872) he received from General
Sabine intelligence of the death of Mrs. Somerville, on
which event he has the following entry : —

"November 30th, 1872. — No words can fully express the
deep feeling of regard which I entertain and will ever cherish
for the great talents and still greater virtues of this most
amiable and honoured and much lamented lady. During
somewhat more than half of my past life I have had the
privilege of her most valued friendship, and at times, only too
few and far between, have corresponded with her on various
subjects.

1870-73O DEATH OF MRS. SOMERVILLE. 341

" In one of my latest conversations with her she expressed
her admiration of a sentiment which I quoted from an Italian
tombstone, to the effect that death to the wise is the evening of
a pleasant day. In a long conversation which followed, the
subject of a future state was considered, with reference to
the probable extension of already known physical conditions,
and some of these which I mentioned having the advantage
of novelty, were accepted by my amiable friend as opening
views which she considered well worthy of contemplation. I
do not attempt, however, now to enter upon disquisitions
which can be only understood after some study of and candid
acquiescence in certain conditions of physical laws already
known to us, and of changes of condition and extensions of
powers quite capable of being brought within the limits of

possibility."

1873.

On February 5th, 1873, he records receipt of two
letters, one from Miss Frances Cobbe, the other from
Miss Somerville, relative to the death of Mrs. Somerville.

" February 5th. — I have received from Miss Cobbe the loan
for perusal of a letter received by her from the late Mrs. Somer-
ville, from which the following extracts are made. It bears
date October 11th, 1872.

" « God bless you, my dearest friend, for your irresistible proof
of our immortality— not that I have doubted it, but as I shall
soon enter my ninety-third year, your proof is an inexpressible
comfort, for my belief has been intuitive. 1 cannot tell why I
have believed.' ' The sacred thirst of the whole human race
for justice would be wanting if there be no world beyond,' is
the noblest proof of our immortality that ever was written.
' The " Life after Death " is by far the most important, and
perhaps the best of your works. At all events it is very great.
Besides, it comes at a time when Atheism is so prevalent in the
scientific world. It is deplorable and inconceivable how men
can believe that the glor y of the heavens, and the beauty of

342 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

the earth, with all its inhabitants, is not the work of a
Deity.'

" This was written at Sorrento (forty clays before her death),
' where,' she observes, ' we have been three months, and shall
remain till November,' and then continues as follows : ' I wish
Mary and you had been with us, for we have a terrace with a
roof, but otherwise open to the air, from which we have an
extensive view of the sea, the whole coast of Naples, Vesuvius,
and a range of mountains that end in cliffs on the shore. On
this terrace we have spent our summer both during the day
and in the evening, reading and conversing till bed time, for
the ah- has been so mild and calm that the lamp burned was
not flickering.' . . .

" ' "With regard to myself, I am really in good health for
my age, but painfully weak. I cannot rise from my chair
without help, and rarely venture to walk alone ; but I some-
times drive out in the evening, being lifted into the carriage.
I am quite deaf, but I see well, and my memory is only good
in mathematics, so I amuse myself solving problems by the
method of Quaterninons in the morning, and Martha beats me
unmercifully at bezique in the evening.'

" What a pleasing picture of blessed old age — the lamp of
life burning indeed with clear and steady light, and without
flickering, too soon, alas ! to be quenched in night. Truly of
these terrace scenes, thus simply yet gracefully described, the
human race may be proud, for in them we contemplate the
closing hours of a good and useful life. True indeed is
the maxim on an Italian tomb, which I quoted to Mrs.
Somerville in 1870, ' Death to the wise is the evening of a
pleasant day.'

" I received also a letter, dated February 2nd, 1873, from
Miss Somerville, ' expressing gratitude to Mrs. Sopwith and
myself for our sympathy in their irreparable loss — a loss
which they feel daily and hourly, so that life seems very flat
and sad without that gentle, intellectual spirit, so full of love
and sympathy. ' You are a very old friend. I say are, and

1870-73-] REMINISCENCES. 343

not were, because I believe (and in time the belief will, I trust,
prove a consolation) that communion with those we love is
only suspended for a time, and that love and friendship will
be continued in the other world. I repeat, then, you are a
very old friend, and the love and honour you have for her is
very pleasing to us.' ' Miss Cobbe is a person of immense
genius and talent, and of the warmest heart. My mother
loved her dearly.' 'To the last her mind was clear and
bright. She died very nearly suddenly, yet not so much so as
to prevent her from taking leave of us two, and of her old
servants, who were so devoted to her, and, thank God, without
suffering or illness. In fact, not two hours before she was in
her usual place — you know it well — in the corner.'

A note on reminiscences is curious, under date of
May 13th.

" May \Wi. — In replying to a letter received from the Rev.
James Wayland Joyce, thanking me for having sent him an
introduction to Sir James Anderson, I said it was ' exactly in
accordance with the sentiments of sincere respect and esteem
which had made it quite a pleasure to attempt being of any
service to him,' and I added, ' I remember seeing in 1814 the
first steamboat that appeared on the rivers Tyne and Thames,
and it is seven years more than half a century since I travelled
in and wrote a description of the first steamboat built on the
River Tyne. When a second boat was suggested, the wise ones
of the earth shook their heads, ' One may do, but Two — will
never answer.' There are now about two hundred ! So much
for surmise. It is on printed record (but whether based on
fact or otherwise I know not) that a former President of the
Royal Society absolutely pooh-poohed the very notion of a steam-
ship being possible. It is pretty well understood that Davy
doubted the lighting of streets by gas, and we know that
Lardner derided a crossing of the Atlantic by steamers. In view
of these and many other instances of erroneous judgment by
eminent authorities, I set a modest value on my own notions

344 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

as a guide for others ; albeit I suppose it is out of the nature
of things not to put my own trust in what I call an instinctive
conviction, rather than an elaborate induction."

Under date of June Mr. Sopwith has some comments
on the Hooper electric cable, a summary of which may
be of value.

The Hooper Telegraphic Cable.

Iu former pages of his journals are entries (commencing
April 19th, 1859), in relation to Mr. Hooper's cable, the
merits of which appeared so prominent, on a first in-
spection, he did not hesitate at once to bring the cable
under the notice of the distinguished engineer, Robert
Stephenson, who made several suggestions and inquiries,
and who formed such a favourable estimate of its value,
that if his life had been spared a few years longer it is
probable Mr. Hooper would have found in him a very
valuable friend, and a powerful promoter and protector
of his interests. Many obstacles presented themselves,
and for years Mr. Hooper had to contend with great
difficulties. At one time Mr. Sopwith took up the
matter as a professional service, and brought it under
the notice of Mr. Cyrus Field, Sir C. Bright, and
Mr. Latimer Clarke, and under the able guidance of
the last-named the cable was in a fair way to success.
In the cost of pursuing experiments Mr. Sopwith under-
took to find £700 out of £2,000, but no sooner were the
merits of the cable made apparent than friends and
capital were forthcoming.

"June 9th. — But, alas ! calm seas were not yet reached
by Mr. Hooper, who for months, and even years, had to
contend against head winds and stormy weather, and I was
led once more into some intimate connection with the cable
along with the late Mr. Brassey. Of all these troublous times
there is only one recollection that I wish to preserve, namely,

1870-73-] THE HOOPER ELECTRIC CABLE. 345

that if, under very perplexing and most complicated conditions,
Mr. Hooper found it difficult to meet every expectation, and
even caused me some annoyance, yet one long-continued and
unbending attention was bestowed with great practical skill,
with untiring industry, and an honest and earnest zeal on the
improvement of the cable. These efforts, which reflect the
highest honour on Mr. Hooper, have eventually been crowned
with success. Of this success the present time seems a cul-
minating point. A powerful company has been formed ; a ship
has been designed and built purposely to lay one of Hooper's
cables in South America ; and in this ship much of the cable
is already placed. I do not attempt to enter upon details of
construction, but some of them are marvellous, none more so
than the completion of an enormous and admirably adapted
ship in the short period of seven months. The credit of this is
due to Messrs. Mitchell and Swan, of Newcastle, one of whose
firm was present at a lunch given on board the Hooper (for so
the ship is named) this day, June 9th, 1873. Invited by a
card from the directors, and by a special note from Mr. Hooper,
I accompanied that gentleman and some of his friends to
Millwall by steamboat. A numerous company filled the
spacious cabin, and a very handsome cold collation enabled
every one to enjoy themselves. When the healths of Sir
William Thomson and Dr. Gladstone had been proposed and
responded to, Mr. Hooper mentioned my name to the company,
along with that of Mr. Latimer Clarke ; a conjunction of which
I am proud. He referred to my efforts during the infancy and
subsequent struggles of the cable, and in a few words I expressed
the high opinion which I really entertain of the wonderful and
successful perseverance of Mr. Hooper. In this most hospitable
and festive gathering I contemplated the realisation of Mr.
Hooper's views. I consider him to be most worthy of his well-
won lam-els. He has achieved the usual reward of patience and
perseverance ; a painful past is followed by a bright present,
and it may be fairly permitted us to hope that so good a
commencement will be followed by a long and prosperous career,

346 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

and favoured with blessings from on high from the Giver of
all good.

" If my luncheon on board the ship Hooper was a great
enjoyment to me this day, still more so was it enjoyable to sit
with my old and most honoured and most estimable friend
Decimus Burton. In my youthful days I was an earnest
admirer of his works, as exhibited in engraved views of places
which I had not seen ; but I formed in my mind a sort of
instinctive admiration of his pure style and severe taste. An
early acquaintance with Greek architecture had taught me
even then to know something of the elements of classical
composition.

" In this I thought Decimus Burton supreme, and what I
then fancied has been solidly confirmed by all subsequent
observations and experience.

" After three hours spent under the genial auspices of Mr.
Burton's hospitality, I went to join my dear Annie and Ursula
at a reception given by Mrs. T. Brassey at 24, Park Place ; and
here I ended a day fraught with much interest and enjoyment.

" The science of electric telegraphy, the art of modern archi-
tecture, based on the purest examples of antiquity, and worth
and wealth are well represented by Hooper, Burton, and
Brassey."

Amongst other friends of Mr. Sopwith should be named
Mr. Prestwich, the geologist. Their friendship extended
over a long period, and the feeling for Mr. Prestwich by
Mr. Sopwith was always of the warmest kind. On a
visit which he paid to this friend he makes the following
entry : —

" July 5th.— This afternoon Annie and I went on a visit
to Mr. and Mrs. Prestwich, at their pleasant residence near
Shoreham in Kent, named Darenthulme. It would indeed be
a difficult task to record in any adequate terms the pleasure
I derived from this visit, or the number and variety of the

I 870-73.] TOUR THROUGH NORWAY. 347

objects which claimed attention. The mansion is in short
the home of a geologist, who by his long-continued and most
able labours has gathered a rich store of scientific treasures,
and attained the highest position of geological science, he
having immediately preceded the Duke of Argyll as President
of the Geological Society of London. His wide fame has been
truly won, and much as I honour and admire his skill, I
admire and esteem still more highly the worth of his genei'al
character — the gentleness of his disposition, and I may add his
abundant and generous hospitality.

" We were delighted alike with the place and with the
agreeable and intelligent friends we met there."

On July 10th Mr. and Mrs. Sopwith, accompanied by
Misses Ursula and Alice, started on a long tour through
Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The diary is full of
picturesque details, which at that time were really
original, although they have now been superseded by
other and more elaborately published descriptions. Some
of the observations on the country people, however, have
still a touch of novelty. The chief feature in Norway,
for instance, lies, in his opinion, in the virtue of its
inhabitants. In them the simplicity of childhood is a
dignity approaching the kingdom of heaven ; and he
desires to pay his respects for the civility and upright-
ness he has always found exemplified in every transac-
tion he has had with the Norwegian people.

In arts and manufactures, in important matters of
learning, in commercial and manufacturing pursuits, in
political and scientific studies, Norway had not, he
thought, attained to the celebrity nor dignity of some
other European countries ; but she is on the march
forward, and her exhibitions of works of native industry
indicate how surely she is advancing to a solid and
honourable maturity.

348 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1870-73.

The journey lasted over a month, the return to England
being made on August 30th.

On September 4th there is an interesting note, from
which it appears that Miss Cobbe and other friends
proposed to bring the remains of the late Mrs. Somerville
to a final resting-place in Westminster Abbey. " Dean
Stanley was not only willing but wishful that this honour
should be given to one so worthy of it, and Sir William
Fairfax, a family connection, oifered to defray all the
costs.'1 The suggestion, however, that an application
should be made from eminent scientific men was not
taken up. " The Astronomer Royal declined, and the
cold shade was thrown over this honourable intention
towards the highly gifted and most estimable lady, to
whose worth La Place, Herschel, and Sabine had
testified."

The next entry, containing a criticism of a much-praised
and much-blamed work of English art, calls for intro-
duction as coming from one who knew practically many
of the details beyond the knowledge belonging even to
professed critics. It is the view of an actual workman
on the work presented to his sight by the artist.

" Saturday, December 20th. — I went to see the new picture
by Holman Hunt, called (but why so I do not understand)
' The Shadow of the Cross.' This led me to expect something
solemn and gloomy — some deeply touching and impressive
lesson relating to that dark shadow of death through which
all must pass. With only the painting before me I should
have seen in it a somewhat garish but minutely painted
picture of a carpenter's work-room, with a swarthy Syrian
athletic youth who seems to have just ceased from sawing a
deal board to utter some expression of anguish, to which a
female figure (whose back only is seen) is seemingly paying no
attention. These figures are meant to represent Christ and

1870.-73] " THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS." 349

His Mother. Many points of detail appear to me to be
doubtful as regards accuracy. The shadow from an eastern
sun would, I think, be darker. The crown and costly draperies
seem out of place. The picture is without repose, and it is to
me more like a map or even model of comparatively trivial
objects rather than an impressive combination of well-adjusted
light and shade. The shadow of a crimson wreath or ' Aghal '
seems out of perspective, and looks as if caused by slanting
rather than horizontal rays. The meagre costume of the
principal figure appears much more elegant and costly than
beseems any workman I have ever seen in the East, where the
raiment, of coarse material, is often thrown round the figure
with a gracefid disposition of folds, which great masters have
gladly and ably imitated.

" I looked in vain for the saw-dust which would bestrewn on
the floor under the recently-made incision, but of this it is
futile to complain in presence of so extraordinary abundance
of shavings. Before, behind, and at each side the floor is
covered with shavings, from which it is to be presumed that
much planing has been in progress in some part of the shop
not represented in the picture. As to minute fidelity in the
details, it is wonderful.

" I have briefly but honestly expressed what occurred to me
on a first view of this work,— not a transient view, for I sat
more than an hour in most attentive examination of it, both
as regards the general aspect, the expression, and the
amazing delicacy and model-like accuracy of the details of
drapery, jewellery, and carpenter's tools. But no one, I think,
can trust their judgment to come to any absolute decision on
a great work at first view, the more so when the immense
value assigned to the picture seems almost to provoke a desire
to find whether imperfection can be detected in a work which
ought in its way to be as nearly perfect as human art can
achieve. Certainly my fh»!; view of it was disappointing."

CHAPTER XXX.

SOME EVENTS OF HALF A CENTURY. THE LEEDS CON-
VERSATION CLUB. THOUGHTS ON GENIUS AND
ENERGY. WILLIAM CHAMBERS. DEAN STANLEY.
EMPEROR OF BRAZIL. THE CLOSE OF THE DIARY.

1874-79.

IN the beginning of 1874 Mr. Sopwith was in
Paris, with Sir Antonio Brady. The season,
January 1st, led him to some reflections on
the course of events for the past fifty years,
on which he observes : —

"The period from 1824 to 1874 has been one of greater
progress than the world has seen in any preceding half century.
Even a bare enumeration of the leading incidents of such
progress would require many ample volumes ; how brief, how
imperfect then must be any attempt of mine to marshal them
forth in the brief pages — as I may say, mere shadowy outlines —
of a journal like this.

" Sixty -five years ago I witnessed the celebration of the
jubilee of George III., and of some of the incidents of that
day I have as clear a memory as though they had happened
only yesterday.

" Five years passed on ; and gas, first invented or brought
into use in 1803, was adapted as a means of lighting the
streets, and expelling for ever the ' darkness visible of the oil-
fed lamps.' And, at this period I witnessed the advent of

I874-79-] SOME EVENTS OF HALF A CENTURY. 351

steam navigation. I saw the first steamboat that was seen
on the Tyne. In 1816 I was instrumental in providing suit-
able arrangements for the exhibition of a locomotive engine
in Newcastle ; and five years before that my friend, Sir Charles
Menteith, had heralded in print the engineering forethought
of Mr. Buchanan of Edinburgh, that steam locomotion would
become the means of conveying passengers more rapidly than
by coach and horses. Not until 1824 was this expectation
realized, and from that year is to be dated the commencement
of the railway system. This I apprehend will be found to be
the most effective promoter of human progress that has been
known up to the period at which I write.

" Of the advances made in engineering, in astronomy, in
geology, in chemistry, in arts, in literature, and in every
department of human knowledge it is impossible to write
without a feeling of wonder and admiration.

" Of this great march, as I may call it, of the human
intellect I have in some few respects been a humble partici-
pator, but my note-books may hereafter possess some interest,
inasmuch as they contain many allusions to men whom I have
known intimately, and whose names must ever be enrolled
among the great benefactors of mankind.

" Of engineers I have personally known Telford, Chapman,
Walker, Cubitt, Brunei, and many others, but more especially
the two Stephensons, father and son.

" I knew Dalton, the father (worthily so called) of chemistry ;
William Smith, in like manner the father of geology ; and so I
might continue to record a long list of honoured names.

" At the close then of half a century (dating from the
beginning of railways in 1824) I feel it to be a privilege and
blessing of the highest order to be able to record, as I now do,
my humble but earnest and most sincere gratitude for
having been permitted to be an eyewitness of the wonderful
progress of the last fifty years."

The election of Mr. Burt to Parliament as a working-

352 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1874-79.

man candidate leads to one or two characteristic notes on
working men in the House of Commons.

"Sunday, February 22nd, 1874. — The introduction of work-
ing men into Parliament is a circumstance that cannot fail to
attract much attention. Take, for example, Mr. Burt, who is a
direct representative of the pitmen in the vicinity of Morpeth,
in Northumberland, succeeding Sir George Grey, who retired
from the representation of that borough. I have no doubt but
that the House of Commons, with instinctive right feeling, will
show much indulgence to a speaker who directly represents
' the masses,' as it is usual to call them ; but I think it probable
that indulgence will not be required, and that Mr. Burt will
make himself heard and understood. If this should prove to be
the case, it would probably lead, if not to a new party, at least
to an extension of liberal views, with which the hitherto liberal
parties have not been made acquainted. There is another and
important influence which working-class members may exert,
and that is an influence on the working classes generally,
tending to convince them that improvement and advancement
can only arise from sound education and prudent conduct. A
sense of justice and love of fair dealing are lessons which
pitmen have been taught by one of the people, who not long
ago expressed such correct views that the employers themselves
gave currency to them. The railway and telegraph afford
means of communication very much more effective for progress
than any which has hitherto existed, and I feel persuaded that
in a few years the results will be much in favour of the
so-called masses, if they as a body can be brought to imitate
the example of many individuals of their class who have
ascended the social scale."

On July 11th, 1874, there is an entry of a visit paid
on the occasion of the golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs.
S. Carter Hall; followed by a description of another visit
to the Continent, and of excursions through Switzerland,

1 874-79-1 LEEDS CONVERSATION CLUB. 353

with a long account of all the places visited, together with
an excellent map of the journey. Of this journey to
Switzerland Mr. Sopwith published a very useful little
work, illustrated with a design, showing the approximate
heights of English and Swiss mountains.

In October of tin's year Mr. Sopwith revisited Leeds,
and his diary at this point contains an entry describing
a local institution called the Conversation Club. At this
club, which has existed many years, some special subject
is brought up for conversation rather than debate. I
remember attending one of these meetings with my old
friend, Mr. John Morley, — then little dreaming of being
a Minister of State, — when, under the presidency of
the late Mr. Kitson, capital punishment was the subject
for conversation. At Mr. Sopwith's visit on October
25th, 1874, the club met at Mr. — afterwards Sir Edward
— Baines's at St. Anne's Hill. The subject of conversa-
tion was " The most useful form of memorial of eminent
men" Several propositions were made, Mr. Sopwith's,
which met with most approval, being a Memorial Hall,
containing a statue or bust of the person to be honoured,
adorned with frescoes, paintings, or engravings repre-
senting his achievements, with a library and reading-
room, and, when convenient, a lecture hall.

Under date of September 19th are some remarks sent
by Mr. Sopwith to G. Harris, Esq., furnished in reply
to an enquiry he made respecting the combined effects of
genius and energy : —

"September \<dth. — Intellectual characters may be unfairly
estimated if the results which they accomplish are attributed
to energy and perseverance, and not to genius or skill.

" This leads to a consideration of these several qualities, both
as regards their own nature and the relations in which they
stand to each other.

23

354 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1874-79.

" Genius is a gift interwoven with the natural mental
character. Skill is as much of the nature of genius as can
be acquired, and both genius and skill may be considered as
included in the word talent.

" Energy is an impulse to work with power in efforts not
necessarily continuous or lasting. Perseverance is akin to
energy, but differing in this respect, that it is in its nature
steady and enduring, and the objects to which it is applied are
not necessarily of so great and powerful a character as those
which are overcome by energy.

" Neither energy of mind, in its powerful efforts, nor per-
severance, in its own more patient labours, are in themselves a
proof of great talents being combined with them, nor do they
necessarily result from the possession of great gifts of mental
endowment. On the contrary, they are found in minds
destitute of high endowments, and are sometimes wanting in
minds of great and varied talents.

" Of this I will endeavour to give some illustration.
" In many cases of ordinary trading operations much energy
and perseverance are absolutely indispensable for acquiring a
requisite proficiency in pursuits in which 110 high endowments
of genius are required.

" This is especially so in the case of acrobats, who are trained
year after year in daily exercises of persevering energy — they
excel in what Channing calls ' the greatness of action.' Yet,
however successful in the energy and perseverance of muscular
activity, they do not necessarily possess any rare endowments
of mind ; of the absence of which their constant occupation
seems in itself sufficient proofs.

" On the other hand, instances are not wanting where
genius and skill, or, in other words, great and varied talents,
have existed without the accompaniment of energy or per-
severance.

" In such characters occasional efforts prove how great is the
talent, and the distance of such efforts from each other proves
the want of energy and perseverance.

1874-79-] THOUGHTS ON GENIUS AND ENERGY. 355

"Byron, who was a deep student both of his own highly
gifted mind and of the character of others, ascribes to genius
and energy a common origin when he writes of —

" ' Every fault that daring genius owes

Half to the ardour which its birth bestows.'

" Assuredly in many, probably in by far the greater number
of cases, genius does ' give birth ' to ardour, which, as here
used, is only another name for energy or greater mental
activity.

" Most commonly they are thus united, and separately they
are of little use in promoting any really high or important
result. Talent without energy is little known, and energy
without talent is only suited for ordinary or it may be even
for trifling occupations.

" In any estimate of intellectual character of a high order,
it is proper to value energy and perseverance as usual and
most important accompaniments of genius, though not in-
variably combined therewith. They are the sword and the
shield with which genius goes forth to battle, and without
which but little conquest can be looked for. If the champion,
however valiant, is without these arms he is almost powerless.

" Genius is not proved to exist by the exertion of vigour,
but when energy is present then it is guided and concentrated
by that pure light of genius which in its essence is of a higher
and more spiritual character than any qualities which are
common alike to genius and to efforts of a much more noble
character."

1875.

The diary through 1875 is that of a man of leisure,
living in London, and filling ivp his time by watching
all current events, and taking part in some. There is a
brief description of the death and funeral of Sir Charles
Lyell ; a short defence of Dean Stanley from the attacks
of the Saturday Review; an account of a dinner-party

356 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1874-79.

where George Cruikskank was present, " in which that
remarkable artist expressed himself without reserve in
favour of Temperance ; " an account of a visit, for the
first time, to Ascot ; a list of pleasant occupations, with
the outline of a day of refined pleasures. In August
of this year he made another visit to Holland, and on
September 27th he attended at the fiftieth anniversary of
the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the
jubilee of railway locomotion. At the Social Science
Meeting at Brighton he was one of the adjudicators of
the Sanitary Exhibition, and in his notes on the progress
of sanitation he describes Mr. Edwin (Jhadwick, " whose
name," he says, " will be remembered as one of the most
active, useful, and benevolent men of the time."

1876.
The year 1876 was marked by a very instructive tour,
in company with Mrs. Sopwith, through Normandy and
Brittany. Of this tour Mr. Sopwith has published a
short essay, giving a most careful description not only of
the various places visited, but of the manners and customs
of the people. History and superstition are, he thinks,
blended here more than in most places, where the mar-
vellous legends which abound are implicitly believed
by many. The history of the church of Folgoet is cited
as a wonderful example of this fact. Later in the year
he made a tour in Scotland, and paid a visit to Mr.
William Chambers at Glenormiston. A short picture of
this visit is given under date of September 23rd.

"September 23rd, 1876. — We left Edinburgh this morning,
and had a pleasant railway journey to Innerleithen, where
Mr. William Chambers was waiting ready to receive us, and
we accompanied him in his carriage to his beautiful mansion
of Glenormiston.

1874-79] VISIT TO WILLIAM CHAMBERS. 357

" It is twenty years or more since I was here, and many
and great are the improvements which have been made since
then. We had a leisurely saunter through the grounds, which
are laid out with great taste, and saw many of the operations
of the active and enlightened proprietor, resulting in very
satisfactory and beautiful works.

" It was with great interest that we heard our good friend
(who is nearly three years my senior) describe these improve-
ments. They reflect the highest credit on his taste, his
engineering and architectural skill, and benevolence. They
are works of a truly great and good man, whose name,
along with that of his brother Robert, will rank among the
most solid and persevering benefactors of mankind in a period
of more than half a century.

"At three we had dinner, and both before, and at, and
after that meal we had a great deal of conversation on a
variety of subjects, interspersed with anecdotes, and with my
imperfect rendering of the local song of ' Canny Newcastle,'
the dialect of which is intelligible in Scotland, though not so
in England generally, except in the north.

" The visit to Glenormiston has afforded us very great
pleasure."

Visits of this nature gave Mr. Sopwith the liveliest
gratification, and led him in another note to reflections
bearing upon his experience of the happiness which is to
be found in different classes of society.

" October Wih. — In my voyage through life it has often been
my habit not only to reflect seriously on passing occurrences,
but also to record such reflections with the hope that they may
be interesting and perhaps instructive at future periods. At
the present time the transition I have made from one house to
another is suggestive of many considerations.

" I have never been able to discover that happiness (which
has been justly called our being's end and aim) is in any
material degree dependent on external conditions as regards

358 THOMAS SOPWTTH, F.R.S. [1874-79.

wealth or poverty, splendour or a humble state. Of the
extremes of these, in the exaltation of regal pomp or in the
sad abodes of the miserably poor, I do not here desire to
speak, inasmuch as my experience of either of these opposite
conditions has been very limited ; but in that wide range of
English and continental society which has come within a
nearer range of observation and experience, I have witnessed
the diffusion of happiness in many forms and under a great
variety of circumstances.

" It has been my good fortune through life to be thrown
by professional and other circumstances into opportunities of
visiting the homes of both wealthy and poor persons, and of
enjoying the society of many highly accomplished persons of
eminence in science, art, and literature, some in prosperous
estate and others in moderate circumstances. Under all
these varieties of human existence, I have found that the
qualities which constitute friendship and mutual esteem are
essential to true enjoyment. These qualities give to life its
most exquisite and enduring enjoyments, its ' glowing charm,'
as the learned historian of Northumberland has well expressed
it. Fifty years have passed since I gave a strong expression
of these views, and every year of that half -century has con-
vinced me of their truth and value."

1877.

On February 23rd, 1877, he was much gratified by a
visit from the Deau of Westminster (Dean Stanley), who
called with Dr. Stoughton to look at some letters by the
Rev. John Wesley. The interview seems to have been
extremely pleasant on both sides, for the Dean was one
of those Broad Churchmen towards whom Mr. Sopwith
felt the warmest regard. The following day he started
for Spain, through which country he made quite an
extensive series of excursions, during a period lasting
nearly three months.

On June 6th he makes a note of his having accompanied

1 874-79.] THE EMPEROR OF BRAZIL. 359

me, in my capacity of President of the Council of the
Royal Historical Society, to an audience granted by the
Emperor of Brazil.

" We were shown into a drawing-room at Olaridge's Hotel,
where several ladies were in attendance on the Empress, and
several gentlemen were assembled for interviews on various
objects. The Emperor entered the room at the corner where
we had been placed, and Dr. Richardson, in an appropriate
address, presented the Diploma of the Society and five volumes of
Transactions to the Emperor, who appeared to be gratified by
the compliment, and after a short conversation he shook hands
with the several members of the deputation, eight in number.

" Both he and the Empress signed their names in a book,
and the latter exchanged parting compliments with the
members of the deputation.

" Nothing can exceed the industry of the Imperial pair, in
seeing every person and every place and every process of
manufacture of a distinguished or remarkable character."

1878.

A series of leisurely and yet useful days leads us up to
June 11th, 1878, when the diary records the marriage of
Mr. Sopwith's beloved daughter, Ursula, to Mr. David
Chadwick, M.P. The marriage was celebrated at the
church of St. Andrew's, at Ashley Place, the ceremony
being performed by Dean Stanley. The note appended
to this event expresses the happiest hopes in truly
felicitous terms, to which he adds, —

" These notes must ever possess a deep interest as long as
I am spared in sufficient health and memory to read them,
and to realize some of the pleasing associations which, in a
great degree, reconcile me to the separation of my daughter
from my home."

The rest of the journal during this year (1878) is

360 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S. [1874-79.

somewhat irregularly kept, and is interspersed with notes
dwelling largely on the depressed condition of trade and
the unfortunate state of the times. It was my duty during
this year to visit Mr. Sopwith professionally, and I was
obliged to observe that, although he made every effort
to maintain his cheerfulness and serenity, an effort was
required. He took an interest still in public affairs,
but only for brief periods, and he began to tell me that
the labour of carrying on the diary told upon him so
much that he thought he should not continue it beyond
the current year. I was obliged also to notice that the
failure of his heart, which had at intervals been a cause
of anxiety, was now almost a permanent failure. Towards
the close of 1878 I recommended him to go to Bourne-
mouth for a change, from which place he wrote to me,
two or three times, quite cheerfully. He spent Christ-
mas at Bournemouth, in a manner, he reported to me,
not wanting in social enjoyment, in company of valued
friends, to whom his song of " Canny Newcastle " was
cheerfully rendered. On New Year's Day, 1879, a little
before midnight, a sleepless state was followed by a
paroxysm of difficult breathing. The next day he re-
turned to London, and on January 3rd, his birthday, he
completed his diary, and marked it, " The End."

CHAPTEE XXXI.

.MEMORANDA AND LITERARY NOTES. THE GLACIAL
THEORY. ASCENT OF CHAM 0 UNIX. GIBBON AND
LA USANNE. CAL VIN AND HUMPHRY DA VY. ROMAN
BATHS AT TREVES. MINING AT FR El BERG. A
GEOLOGICAL PIONEER. CHURCH OF THE FOOL 01
THE FOREST. DANISH WATCHMAN'S CURFEW.

>N addition to his diary Mr. Sopwith was fond
of jotting down memoranda and literary
notes, some of which he printed for private
circulation. They are as varied as the in-
formation which he had stored np in his capacious mind,
and they afford admirable touches, here and there, of the
judicial wisdom with which he could comment on different
subjects, as well as of the acuteness with which he was
able to record passing observations. The picture of him
would not be complete without a chapter containing a
few selections from these incidental notes.

The Glacial Theoey.

In a chapter on Chamounis, published in a small treatise
entitled " A Month in Switzerland," he gives us the
following passages on the Glacial Theory : —

" For some time the glacial theory made slow progress,
but Dr. Buckland took up the subject with great energy,
and proceeded to investigate the evidences which Agassiz
had contended would be found in various parts of Great

362 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

Britain and on the Continent, in situations where no one
had even suspected the existence of any snch features.
I accompanied Dr. Buckland to various places in
Northumberland, Durham, and North Wales, and the
search for rounded and furrowed rocks — the work of
glaciers — was very successful.

" In later years glacial action has been recognised by
geologists as an important agent in many phenomena
relating to the transport of large boulder stones, the
formation of moraines, and the rounding and polishing
and furrowing of rocks. The physical conditions under
which these enormous masses of ice descend the Alpine
valleys have been learnedly investigated by Saussure,
Forbes, Tyndall, and others, and various communications
to the Geological Society and numerous works on the
subject have now made it one of popular interest. Here,
at Chamounix, the tourist is within easy reach of glaciers
which yet remain, and finds it difficult to realize that
such masses of ice formerly existed in Great Britain. A
comparison of the effects produced by the movement of
ice with the features clearly shown by rocks in many
places in Great Britain leaves no room for doubt as to
the identity of the cause and effect in both cases, and
glaciers which a century ago were thought to belong
exclusively to high mountain ranges are now found to
possess a much wider and more home-like interest.

" ' At what period, then, of the earth's history were
English valleys filled with ice ? ' This inquiry, which
is naturally suggested, may perhaps be best answered in
words used by De la Beche with reference to some
geological features. ' If,' said he, 'I am to be hard
pressed on the subject of time, I should say that I
consider these remains to be of very great antiquity as
regards historical periods, and very little antiquity as

THE ASCENT OF CHAMOUNIX.

363

regards geological periods.' For lessons of geological
time no pages are more instructive than those presented
by the vast masses of mountains in the district of which
Chamounix is the most accessible centre, and whoever
from England reads them with attention will learn
lessons which, on returning to his home, he may improve
by the study of English glacial phenomena."

The Ascent of Chamounix.

" It is curious to reflect that, of all the centuries of
known history, in one only has this mountain been an
object of attraction to tourists. In the middle of last
century the vale of Chamounix, although it had been
inhabited some five or six centuries, was dreaded as a
dangerous place, and its grand scenery known as ' The
evil mountains.' One hundred and ten years ago (1764)
Saussure, that truly eminent philosopher and ardent
explorer, first commenced his well-known researches on
the glaciers. The ascent of Mont Blanc was accomplished
for the first time on record in 1786, since which time up
to the end of the year [1874] the total number of ascents
has been 726 (exclusive of guides and porters). Of these
only five were made in the last century. During the
first forty-five years of the present century few ascents
were made, and these chiefly by Englishmen. In ten
years between 1847 and 1857 all the excursionists were
English, and in later years the register at Chamounix
records the following number of ascents :—

1861 .

. 42

ascents.

1868 .

33 ascents.

1862 .

. 24

V

1869 .

54 „

1863

. 55

))

1870 .

14 „

1864 .

. 63

))

1871 .

22 „

1865 .

. 66

»

1872 .

57 „

1866 .

. 25

))

1873 .

59 „

1867 .

. 42

n

364

THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S.

" The following is a statement of the nationality of
those who made the ascents : —

British .

. 449

Austrians

4

French .

. 105

Spaniards

3

American

. 75

Poles

3

German .

. 34

Livonian

1

Swiss

. 30

Belgian .

1

Italian .

8

Swede

1

Russian .
Dutch .

6
4

Norwegian

1

It appears, therefore, that in the first sixty years of this
century the number of ascensions was 165, or an average
of rather less than three persons per annum. These
records are satisfactory, as indicating the spirit of enter-
prise and hardihood of onr fellow-countrymen."

GrIBBON AND LAUSANNE.

Amongst the favourite authors of Mr. Sopwith, Gibbon
held a first place, in which sense of literature he and I
had the same taste. We often compared notes, as he
called it, on this author ; and I remember once how I
envied him that I could only gather from his vivid
description an idea of the home at Lausanne. I wish I
could remember that description as he gave it. I cannot,
but here is a fragment from the little work already
quoted : —

" We did not attempt to realize the exact spot where
he is said to have finished his great work, for the locality
is so much altered that clear definition of such details is
no longer possible. Enough it is to know that here and
hereabouts was the place where day by day and hour by
hour the great historian penned his work, in full view of

JOHN CALVIN AND HUMPHRY DAVY. 365

the beautiful lake and mighty mountains which, from
any part of this immediate locality, still present the same
aspect as that on which his eye must so often have
rested. These great and sublime and beautiful features
we saw to great advantage on a lovely morning and in
an atmosphere — how still and lovely."

Resting-Place of John Calvin and Humphky
Davy.

In the cemetery of Geneva Mr. Sopwith made two notes: —

" The resting-place of Calvin is near the south corner
of the cemetery, and (in conformity, it is said, with
his own desire) no stately monument is reared to his
memory. The place where he was interred is marked
only by a stone rather less then a cubic foot in its dimen-
sions, and bearing on it only the initials J. C.

" Here also is a monument erected to the memory of
Sir Humphry Davy, who was buried here."

Eoman Baths and Masonry at Tkeves.

In another treatise, entitled " Three Weeks in Central
Europe," we get a graphic and original account of Roman
baths and Roman masonry at Treves : —

" The ' Roman Baths ' are situated at the south corner
of the city, which in shape is nearly square, one of the
diagonals nearly corresponding with a meridian line.
These ruins are of great extent, both above and under-
ground, and the adjacent surface is well wooded. It is
impossible to repress feelings of astonishment as suc-
cessive portions of this extraordinary mass of buildings
are gradually disclosed to view. The walls have been

366 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

built of amazing strength, and many of the arches con-
sist of five or six ranges of stone. Some of the walls
are very high, as well as enormously massive, and with
the surrounding trees and ivy the general effect is very
picturesque. We threaded our way through numerous
vaults and subterranean galleries, which forcibly re-
minded me of similar excavations at Richborough, in
Kent, and, like them, the full extent of these passages
has not yet been ascertained. It is only during the last
fifty years that the earth and rubbish which concealed
the Roman Baths of Treves have been removed ; even
the upper walls of the castle or palace were much hidden
by the earth-works of the fortifications surrounding the
city. Curious as these ruins are they are far inferior to
the Baths of Diana, at Nismes, where graceful arches
and ornamental columns attest a more advanced stage of
luxury.

" It was curious to observe that in four works of the
Romans in this city no less than four different modes of
building have been adopted. In the Basilica brick and
cement only are used. The Palace and Baths are built
of stones of medium size, with layers of brick-work. In
the Amphitheatre are small stones with cement, and in
the Black Gate large stones without cement. This strange
variety seems to indicate fertility of resource as well
as mechanical skill, for examples of every one of these
essentially different modes of construction have endured
to the present time in a nearly perfect state, over a
period not far short of two thousand years, and bidding
fair, if carefully attended to, to remain intact for many
centuries to come. I made sketches of the brickwork
of the Basilica, the stone and layers of brick at the
Baths, the stone and cement of the Amphitheatre, and
the massice masonry without cement of the Black Gate."

MINING AT FREIBERG. 367

Mining at Freiberg.

In the same little volume, " Three Weeks in Central
Europe," there is au account of a visit to the district of
Freiberg, situated about twenty-five miles in a south-
westerly direction from Dresden.

The city of Freiberg is well known as the capital or
chief place of a territory which for its mining capabilities
and operations is famous throughout Europe. In such
a spot Mr. Sopwith would naturally be at home. He
gives us the following pictures : —

" Mining in this territory is of venerable antiquity,
extending backward for many centuries, yet having had
its fuller developments in the last two or three hundred
years, and more especially in the present century. I
looked with interest at a plan said to be one of the
earliest known ; it is dated 1608, and its execution, rude
and inartistic as it is, sufficiently indicates the great
depth and extent of the workings then existing. What
they are now can only be fully comprehended by means
of detailed plans and sections, several of which were
shown to me. They indicate works of vast extent and
intricacy, such as can scarcely be appreciated by any
general description.

" The surface operations are conducted under cover, that
is in roofed buildings, to a greater extent than in corre-
sponding works in England. This is due to two causes,
namely, the greater intrinsic value of silver ores and the
severity of the climate in winter. The value of the ores
and the close intermixture of several valuable mineral
substances render corresponding care necessary in the
dressing processes, some of which are of great ingenuity.
The English, justly priding themselves on many im-

368 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

portant works of engineering skill in recent times, are
apt to forget how much the metallurgical and mining-
processes now followed in England were originally
derived from Germany and other mining districts of
Central Europe. It was, therefore, with extreme interest
that I viewed a place so celebrated as Freiberg has long
been, not only for the number and value of its mines,
but for the scientific instruction combined with the prac-
tical operations. Over all these the names of some of
the most distinguished men of science shed a lustre, the
brightness of which will be more and more appreciated
as advances continue to be made in mining industry, and in
the numerous sciences allied with it. Of these it may be
sufficient to mention James Watt, Werner, and Humboldt.
"The Mining College of Freiberg has been in full
activity rather more than a century, having been founded
in 1766. At that time little more than three thousand
men were employed at the mines, and the annual value of
the produce is stated to have been £J33,000. Recently
(1865) the number of miners was about eight thousand,
and the value of the produce not far short of a quarter
of a million sterling."

A Geological Pioneer — A. G. Werner.

In the cathedral at Freiberg, said to be the oldest in
Europe, our friend found the " Golden Door " one of the
most prominent attractions to visitors, but he chiefly
mentions it because immediately in front of it and only
a few paces from it is the grave of one whose name is
for ever associated, not only with Freiberg and its mining
district, but with the history of science, more especially of
the sciences of mineralogy and geology : —

"Under a plain, flat gravestone, scarcely to be distin-

WERNER AND HUTTON. 369

guished from the pathway leading to the church, lie the
remains of Wernek, indicated by the following in-
scription : —

ABRHM GTTLB
WERNER.

Near to it is a neat mural monument erected by his
sister, and inscribed as follows : —

Hier ruhit Abraham Gottlob Werner ; Dieses Denkmal
erricht ihm schwesterrliche llebe. eln

BLEIBENDERES Er SICH SELBST.

An affectionate memorial of one who truly erected a
more lasting monument for himself in the usefulness and
celebrity of his scientific labours.

" Accurate geological induction does not date back to a
period much anterior to the present century, and public
attention was chiefly called to it by the views of Werner
and Hutton in theories which became popularly known
as Wernerian and Huttonian. The difference between
these consisted in the prominence given by the former to
water, and by the latter to fire, as prime causes in the
distribution of the strata which compose the crust of the
earth. The one looked to the deposition of vast masses
of strata by watery agencies ; the other attached more
importance to what were called plutonic or fiery in-
fluences ; and, while the world was giving attention to
this contest, the really useful labours of the founder of
English geology were in a great measure neglected.
This was William Smith, who, so early as 1801, con-
structed an admirable geological map of England, and by
his long-continued services laid the foundation of geo-
logical science in this country on a basis the soundness
of which, having been abundantly established, has well
entitled him to the generally accorded name of the

24

37o THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

Father of English Geology. The cotemporaneous labours
of Werner and Smith may be regarded as having chiefly
paved the way to the important advances since made
in this department of science. Having been intimately
acquainted with the founder of English geology, whose
friendship I greatly valued, it was with much interest
that I paid the silent homage of respectful remembrance
as I viewed the tombstone of his great cotemporary."

The Chukch of the Fool of the Forest.

When travelling in Brittany, Mr. Sopwith stayed at
Landernau, where he visited Folgoet, the site of a church
around which hangs one of the mysteries which even to
his staid and thoughtful mind had the charm of legend.
He thus describes the place in his notes on Brittany: —

" At Landernau we took up our abode at the Hotel de
l'Uniyers, and after an excellent breakfast we went to
visit the curious old church at Folgoet, distant about
ten miles. The roads in all this part of France, so far
as we have seen them, are excellent. The first view of
the church is very striking, and the spire is so much in
the same style as those at Quimper, that it seems to be
the model from which the latter have been taken.

" The interior is remarkably striking from the bold
and picturesque style of architecture, and especially so
as regards a rood-loft and large east window. Both of
these are of a highly ornamental character. It is in vain
to attempt by any description to convey an accurate idea
of the peculiarities which meet the view in the doorways,
columns, windows, altars, and other parts of the church
of the ' Fool of the Forest,' for such is the meaning
of its name. In the minuteness and beautiful workman-
ship of the carving in stone I doubt whether a parallel

CHURCH OF THE FOOL OF THE FOREST 371

is to be found in Europe. In Murray's hand-book
there is a good enumeration of the objects best deserving
attention, and to an architect gifted with skill in delinea-
tion, and with leisure to exercise it, this edifice is a mine
of wealth. The tendrils of leaves, a dewdrop and insects,
are among the sculptured objects which abound in the
decorations of this church.

" History and superstition are much blended in many
places, but in few, if any, more closely than in Brittany,
where the marvellous legends which abound are implicitly
believed by many. Seldom has this union been exhibited
in a more definite form than in the legendary history
of the church of Folgoet. A boy of weak intellect,
it is recorded, used to beg in this neighbourhood, and
his supplications to passers-by were always accompanied
by expressions of devotion to the Virgin Mary. He
lived to the age of forty years, and before his death
(says the legend) the Virgin appeared to him and pointed
out the place where a well, endowed with miraculous
powers of healing, would be found. After his burial
close to this well, a lily tree grew from his grave, and
on the leaves of the lilies the name of Mary was im-
pressed. These wonders came to the notice of John de
Montford, who was then at war with Charles of Blois,
contending for the Dukedom of Brittany. He, it is
said, sent commissioners to examine into these reputed
miracles, and they, after investigation, reported that the
roots of the lily tree sprung from the mouth of the
buried Fool of the Forest. In consequence of this the
church was partly built by John de Montford, and
finished by his successor. The high altar is said to be
directly over the grave where the imbecile was buried, and
closely adjoining the outside of the east end of the church
is the well, which, we were told, is still resorted to on

372 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

account of its supposed miraculous powers of healing.
Such is the curious concurrence of events which caused
this remarkable building to be erected. Great indeed
must have been its beauty when perfect. It is wonderful
even in decay."

Sir Walter Scott.

It will be remembered that in a previous chapter (page
33) Mr. Sopwith described an accidental meeting of Sir
Walter Scott in one of his tonrs in Scotland, between
Longtown and Langholm. That the great novelist had
an ardent admirer in our friend must be admitted, and
some allowance made, therefore, for a touch of enthusiasm.
Nevertheless, as the note about to be given was written
at a time when the living man was well known as a man
as well as a writer, it is certainly deserving of record
how he was then viewed by a young but good observer.
While relating the beauty of his journey, Mr. Sopwith
digresses, for a moment, to refer to the prince of fiction : —

" The favourable state of the atmosphere contributed
much to the beauty of this delightful ride ; — as we
advanced, the sun shone brightly on the green and brown
slopes of the hills, and, as they receded from our view,
their massive and picturesque outline was formed by a
misty, aerial tint, approaching to a deep blue, which
produced a most sublime effect. But what added most
interest to the scene was the circumstance of meeting
in this romantic solitude the most eminent man of his
country, Sir Walter Scott, whose writings have so much
increased the interest and added to the associations of
the localities noticed in them, and whom even to have
seen is well worthy of remembrance, especially as on
this occasion it had the coincidence of its being my first

S/X WALTER SCOTT. 373

day in Scotland, and in a situation where the poet was
surrounded by so much of the poetry and sublimity of
Nature.

" It is pretty generally known that this admirable
and fascinating writer is not remarkable for any external
indications of genius. A dull and rather heavy expres-
sion of countenance is, indeed, wonderfully brightened
up by the vivacity of his social spirit in conversation ;
but his is not in its general aspect the " poet's eye," which
Shakespeare has so loftily conceived, and so beautifully
described. His manners are universally described as
being extremely engaging, and his disposition open,
candid, and generous. His courteous behaviour and
great hospitality are well known; but, it is said, that these
amiable characteristics have latterly had some restriction
forced upon them by their tendency to induce his ad-
mirers to seek the charm of his society ; and, when the
rank and unlimited number of these are considered,
extending from the throne to the cottage, and from
individual to national admiration, such a regard to
privacy seems quite indispensable. Whatever exceptions
may be found in some minutiae of his character and
writings, Sir Walter Scott undoubtedly holds a most
exalted station as a poet, historian, antiquary, and
novelist. His disposition and conduct, too, have been
such as to gain him a very high, and almost unprece-
dented, degree of private esteem and public admiration.
By incorporating accurate and beautiful delineations of
national scenery and manners into the productions of his
fertile and luxuriant mind, he has conveyed a great mass
of useful information amongst a numerous and respect-
able portion of society, to whom the more laboured and
less enchanting details of the historian and topographical
writer would have remained almost entirely unknown.

374 THOMAS SOP WITH, F.R.S.

And where can more vivid or exact delineations be
found of many eminent characters and interesting places
and events, than those which abound in the beautiful
romances of the author of ' Waverley ' ? By the great
interest, also, which these works have created, as regards
the national character and scenery of Scotland, they have
contributed much to the union of national feeling, and
have conferred most important benefits on Scotland by
the numerous and opulent tourists who throng in crowds
to visit the scenery consecrated by his muse."

The Danish Watchman's Curfew.

As told in the diary, Mr. Sopwith, in company with Mr.
Robert Stephenson, visited Denmark and Norway in the
autumn of 1854. In Copenhagen he seems to have been
entertained with everything, from the early morning
until the hour for the song of the watchman at ten p.in. ;
a song he translates in the following strain : —

" I am the watchman ; the clock has struck ten ;
If the hour you would ask for, listen again —

The clock has struck ten.
Master, children, and servants know
Now it is time to bed to go ;
Do not forget to God to pray,
Be careful of fire, put candles away —

The clock has struck ten."

CHAPTER XXXII.

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF MR. SOPWITIL LAST
ILLNESS AND DEATH.

1879.

Y recollections of Mr. Sopwith extend over
nearly twenty-three years, namely, from 1856
when we first met at Hartwell, to thejast day
but one of his life, January 15th, 1879.
The opinion I formed of him on our first acquaintance,
recorded in the opening chapter of this book, never varied .
Our acquaintance ripened into friendship quickly, a
friendship which remained unbroken and unruffled. A
more reliable man I never met, or one of calmer, more
forbearing, or gentler nature, combined with firmness
of character, decision, and expression almost abrupt
in its decisiveness. His voice was gentle, and, when
his sympathies were aroused, slightly tremulous. In
stature he stood about five feet six, and he was of strong,
foil build. His temperament was a mixture of sanguine
and bilious. His features, well pourtrayed m the portrait
at the commencement of this work, were full, firm, ana
expressive. His head was a little above the usual size ;
the forehead well developed; and the who le head
finely balanced. The phrenologists might well claim
him as one whose cranial development corresponded

376 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1879.

splendidly to the richly endowed and, at the same time,
admirably balanced mind. Professor Laycock's theory of
a large ear lobe as a sign of an active brain was also
well illustrated. In action he was deliberate, but at the
same time quickly observant ; his small, piercing bluish-
grey eyes seeming to seize every object brought before them
with remarkable rapidity. When I first knew him his
acuteness of hearing was equal to that of sight, and this
especially for musical sounds, the merest discord being
instantly detected by him. I told him once that at the
theatre nothing pleased me more than the tuning of the
instruments of the orchestra, — it was so like chaos passing
into order; " Yes," he added, "that is true, and order is
harmony." He himself was the soul of order ; every-
thing had its place with him, and the cabinet called the
Monocleid, in his study, was his pride. It contained
every paper he was working at, so arranged that he could
put his hand upon the book or document he wanted as if
it came at a call. I used to compare his papers to the
Roman centurion soldiers who always came when they
were called, but sometimes came when they were not
called. " Nay," he said, " my papers even beat the
soldiers ; they never come when they are not wanted,
but always come when they are."

Sopwith loved work ; with him work was play and play
was work, so that he was never for a moment idle ;
but his method was so quiet and unostentatious that
it troubled no one about him. When he travelled he
carried with him his wonderful desk, fitted up like a
small monocleid, arranged to carry all books and papers
he wanted, and " ready for work the moment a table,
chair, and proper place could be found for it." This
constant occupation of mind conveyed to him, as it does
to others of the same type, that happiness which the

1 879.] PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 377

world can neither give nor take away ; so that his years,
though they went swiftly as the shuttle of a weaver's
beam, were borne on the wings of happiness and perfect
peace. His religion was that of the heart, without outward
profession of any kind. He belonged, I believe, nominally
to the old Church of England ; and all his predilections-
historical, antiquarian, and social — were in sympathy with
a Church he considered quite broad enough to hold in
her pale men of all classes, even men of the most exalted
science. He kept the commandments, and although he
was not the most rigid of Sabbatarians, he liked the day
of rest as a good social and healthful institution.

Of his friends and contemporaries Mr. Sop with enter-
tained at all times the most charitable views. With
him life without charity was indeed sounding brass and
tinkling cymbal, but he avoided bad men with instinctive
aversion. To friends with whom he was most intimate,
and whose abilities he admired, he was much attached,
and of such friends he never could say too much. Indeed,
if he had a failing in this direction it was that he some-
times let friendship over-estimate ability. He was all
through, in fact, of a generous nature, and was ready at
any time to give his best assistance to every good cause
and case that was brought before him. These qualities
endeared him to his large circle of friends, friends of the
most varied casts of mind, thought, and learning. Dr.
Lee said very correctly of him, " that he made friends
of every one he met, and he could not conceive of
Mr. Sopwith having an enemy." This was an opinion
very generally entertained.

He was fond of society, was essentially a social man,
both at home and from home. At home he was a most
genial host, full of anecdote and humour, and ready at the
proper seasons to indulge in all innocent merriment and

378 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1879.

fun. He had several stock stories, one or two in rhyme,
and when he sat down to the pianoforte, though I believe
he could not play from notes, he discoursed, from memory,
excellent music. In society from home he was always
respected and always popular. In the learned Societies
he was an attentive and appreciative listener, and as
the range of his knowledge was wide, his eye good for
telescope and microscope, and his hand good for
mechanics, his opinion was much esteemed; but he was
rather a poor debater. He had not in speech the gift of
perspicuity ; he could not think on his legs with facility
was given, therefore, to wander away from his subject, and
then, detecting what he had done, would sit down abruptly.
When, however, he had prepared a paper, all was as clear
and sharp as crystal, and sometimes in repartee there
was a sparkle of humour in what he said which made its
mark. But always in the learned Society he was in-
quisitive to the last degree in regard to every new idea
and invention that came under his notice. He held a
theory similar to that held by the famous Dr. Anderson,
the founder of Anderson's College, in Glasgow — that
whatever appeals strongly to the eye is irresistible,
that it must attract observation and force its way into
the mind. He said he had scarcely ever met a man,
however poor and simple, or great and intelligent, who
would not stop to look at the working of a piece of
mechanism that presented some novelty. This observa-
tion came out of a conversation on ballooning, in which
Glaisher and Coxwell's perilous and brilliant researches
were the subject of discourse. " A balloon is a piece of
mechanism, a rude mode of flight, still a novelty because
incomplete for practical purposes; therefore everybody
runs to see a balloon, and some in their excitement
would tear the thing up if they could get at it, as if they

1 879] PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 379

wanted to see what was inside it." " Is it the motion or
the mechanism that is the wonder?" I enquired of hi in.
" Would a man, for instance, who had never seen a watch
show the least interest in it if it did not go ? " " Ah !
that," he replied, " is a nice bit of metaphysics, or mental
physics rather, which you doctors must find out. All I
know is that whatever goes interests, and that I myself
am not easily tired at looking at whatever is going, in
which I am like the rest of the world."

Up to the sixty-fifth year of his age Mr. Sopwith en-
joyed a healthy life — a life broken by very few interrup-
tions of sickness ; a blessing due to several favouring
causes. In the first place, he was always most temperate
in his mode of life. He was not abstemious in diet, but
regular and moderate. He took but little wine or other
alcoholic drink, and that, as he said, secundum artem.
Secondly, he was an early riser and a good sleeper.
Lastly, born of a happy disposition and simple in his
desires, he brought upon himself few unnecessary cares,
and met such anxieties as necessarily came to him with
such serenity that disease from friction of mind on body
was ever wisely tempered. He told me on one occasion
that he did not remember being a day in a position in
which he could not cover every debt he owed at an
hour's notice, a position the most favourable of all both
for health and for happiness.

About 1867 his robust health began somewhat to fail.
He felt, as he described it, some central failure. His
mind was usually as active as ever, but not " always."
He consulted the late Dr. Bence Jones, who detected
the " central failure " as being truly central, that is to
say, in the heart, and who prescribed very judiciously
on that finding. Some time afterwards, on the death of
Dr. Bence Jones, Mr. Sopwith placed himself under my

380 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. [1879.

professional care. By this time the heart affection had
become very distinct and decided. He had what we
physicians call " mitral disease," under which the balance
between the pulmonary and general circulations was easily
disturbed by slight external causes, and especially by
atmospheric changes. Under careful management, change
of scene, and regulated diet, the dangerous symptoms
that were foreseen were deferred for many years ; and
under the unremitting vigilance of Mrs. Sopwith his life
remained comparatively healthy and comfortable until
the beginning of the year 1879. Then his mental
energies commenced rather rapidly to decline, and after
a slight cold, bronchial troubles supervened, under which
combinations of depression he gradually sank, resigned
and gentle to the last.

Mr. Sopwith's death — I should rather say his euthanasia
— took place on January 16th, 1879, at 103, Victoria
Street, Westminster. He was buried at Norwood
Cemetery, where a granite slab, inscribed, —

THOMAS SOPWITH, M.A., F.R.S., C.E.,

Born at Newcastle, January 3rd, 1803 ;

Died in Westminster, January 16th, 1879,

declares his final resting-place.

The End.

INDEX.

INDEX.

A.

Abbey, Westminster, the ar-
chitecture of, 74, 272.

Hulme, the, 41, 42.

Albert, Prince, 217, 231, 260.
Alderson, Baron, 111.
Allenheads, lead mines of,

227.

chief agency of, 223.

address to workmen at,

230.

residence at, 234.

departure from, 261.

return to, 276.

adventure at, 283.

mining life at, 296-

308.

Allison, Mr. Robert, 144.

Anagram, solution of an, 277.

Anderson, Dr., founder of An-
derson's College, Glasgow,
378.

Anderson, Mr. W. G., 120'
178, 212, 213.

Angouleme, Duchess of, 5.

Antiquities of Newcastle-on-
Tyne, 30.

Argyle, Duke of, visit to,
238.

Armstrong, Mi*. William, 19,
236.

Mr. William George —

Sir William — Lord Arm-
strong,-172, 178, 191,192,
232, 236, 242, 244, 258, 264,
305.

guns, first of the, 243-4.

Arthur, Mr., 152.

Arts, National Repository of,
77.

Ashman, Mr. John, 302.

Astronomical calculations, the,
174, 175.

Astronomy, lecture on, 173.

Atkinson, Mr. Henry, 10.

3»4

INDEX.

Atkinson, Mr. J. G., 227.

Bedouin lady, a, 144.

Authorship, early, the, 21-

Belgians, King of the, 212-

25.

214, 217.

Aylesbury, Mechanics' Insti-

Bell, Mr., 67, 305, 321.

tution, the, 251.

Soul, the, at Newcastle-

on-Tyne, 30.

Thief and Reever, the, at

Newcastle-on-Tyne, 30.

B.

"Great Tom "of Oxford,

the largest in England, 163.

Babbage, Mr., 138, 169, 170

Bells, muffled peal of, at New-

171, 277.

castle, on January 30th, in

Baines, Mr. E.— Sir Edward,

memory of King Charles I.,

353.

30.

Ballot, the, 265.

Berkeley, Bishop, works of, the,

Barker, Dr., 253.

115.

Barometers, 279.

Berkely, Mr., 20.

Baron le Bon, 204.

Betham, Sir William, 153,

Barry, Mr. 0.— Sir Charles—

156.

138, 139, 144, 145.

Bewick, Mr. J. T., 256, 265,

funeral of, 276.

283, 298, 301, 305.

Baths, Roman, 365.

Bidder, Mr., 239.

Baxendale, Mr., 207, 209.

Mrs., 269.

Beardmore, Mr., 284.

Bigge, Rev. Edward, 124, 139,

Beaufort, Duke of, 176.

162.

Beaumont, Mr. T. W., 223,

Birkbeck, Dr., 102.

228, 229, 230.

Blackett, Sir Edward, 91,

death of, 235.

109.

Mr. WentworthBlackett,

William, once owner of

262.

the W. B. lead mines, 227.

builder and supporter of

Blind Willie, biography of,

good schools, 300.

85.

Lady Margaret, 265.

Blore, Edward, 318.

Beche, Sir Henry de la, 207.

Bonaparte, Napoleon, at

Beckett, Sir John 97

Waterloo, 205.

INDEX.

385

Books, choice, the, 115.

Buckland, Mrs., 165.

Boulogne, 199.

Frank, 162, 263.

Bowerbank, Dr. 186.

Miss, 263.

Brady, Sir Antonio, 322, 336.
Brandling, Mr. William, 138.

Buddie, Mr. John, 86, 87,
109, 110, 113, 114, 122,

Brassey, Mr. Thomas, 258,

123, 124, 125, 139, 140,

290.
death of, 329.

143, 176, 178, 184, 185,
186, 199, 206, 310.

Brazil, Emperor of, 359.

Empress of, 359.

Bridge, Scotswood, chain, the

opening of, 83.
O'Bxien, Sir Lucius, 156.

Bull, Ole, concert at King's

Theatre, London, 121.
Bull-fight, Spanish, a, 193.
Buller, Wentworth, 170.
Burnett, Mr. George, 133.

Bright, Mr. Benjamin Hay-
wood, 69, 186.

Burns, Captain James Glen-
cairn, 84.

Mr. John, M.P., 198,
289, 311.

Robert, the Scottish poet,

116.

Sir Charles, 291, 344.
British Association, 137, 292.

Burnup, Mr. Cuthbert, 136.
Miss Frances, 136.

Britton, Mr., 105.

Burt, Mr. T., M.P., 351, 352.

Brougham, Mr. — Lord Broug-

Burton, Decimus, 169, 261,

ham, 17, 87, 292.

283, 291, 346.

Brunei, Sir Isambard, 183.

Mr. I. K., 216, 217.

death of, the, 266, 267.

C.

Buccleugh, Duke and Duchess
of, 180.

Cain, Mr. J. C, 302.

Buchanan, Mr., 351.

Calvin, John, tomb of, 365.

Buckland, Rev. Dr. — Dean of
Westminster, 123, 124, 126,

Cambridge, Duke of, 233, 270.
Cameron, Lady Vere, 254.

138, 139, 162, 163, 164,

Canal, Suez, 290.

165, 166, 167, 169, 176,

Canning, George, grave of, 62.

178, 180, 181, 183, 185,

Canterbury Music Hall, the,

187, 188, 189, 190, 212,

273.

230, 231, 232, 233.

Career, change of 223, 228.

25

386

INDEX.

Career, long, a, 13-20.

Carrick, Mr., 133.

Cathedrals in England and
York Minster, 37.

St. Paul's, 63, 64.

Chadwick, Mr. David, mar-
riage of, 359.

Mr. E.— Sir Edwin—

197, 211, 356.

Chain bridge at Scotswood,
opening of the, 83.

Chambers, Mr. Robert, 38,
39, 227, 234, 235, 291.

Mr. and Mrs. William,

216.

Mr. W., 356-367.

Chamounix,ascentof,363,364.

Chancellor, the Lord, 61.

Chantrell, Mr., 221.

Chantrey, Sir Francis, 170,
179, 181, 185.

Lady, 170.

Chapel Royal, St. James's,
132.

Charles I., King, muffled peal
for, at Newcastle-on-Tyne,
on anniversary of death of,
30.

Charleville, Lady, 170.

Chartist, riots of, 172.

Chatterton, Lady, 170.

Cheney, Mr. Robert, 207,
209.

Chesil Bank, visit to and de-
scription of, 102.

Chesterholme, cottage of Mr.

Hedley, the, 92, 93.
Chevallier, Professor, 191,

323.
Church, All Saints', Newcastle-

on-Tyne, 18, 22.
Nicholas', Newcastle-on-

Tyne, 30.
Clanny, Dr., of Sunderland,

110.
Clapham Cave, near Settle,

the, 189.
Clarke, Mr. Latimer, 344.
Clavering, Sir Thomas, 101.
Clayton, Mr. John, 14, 86, 91,

225.

v. Gregson, 109.

Rev. Richard, 197.

Clegg, Mr. , and the atmosph eric

railway, 177, 211.
Clennell, Mr., 67.
Clinton, General, 205.
Clive, Colonel, 182.
Club, the Conversation, Leeds,

353.
Coach, the Chevy Chase,

50.

Wellington, 51.

Highflyer, 106.

Lord Exmouth, 147.

Coaches and coaching in the

old days, 51.

costs of, 56, 57.

Coates, Mr., 305.

Cobbe, Miss Frances, 341, 343.

INDEX.

387

Cobden, Mr., 289.
Cockburn, Sir Alexander, 226.
Codrington, Admiral, 170.
Cole, Lord, the, 169.

Mr. Henry— Sir Henry,

287, 288.
Colenso, Bishop, 291.
Collidge, Mr. and Mrs., 170.
Collinson, Mr., 88.

Captain, 299.

Commissioners for the Crown
under Forest of Dean Mining
Act, 139.
Concert, Cipriani Potter's, the,
at Hanover Square rooms,
London, 123.
Concert, Ole Bull's, the, at
King's Theatre, London,
121.
Consort, Prince, the, 276.

death of the, 288.

Cooke, Mr. Isaac, 186.

Mr., the electrician, 284.

General, 205.

Mr. E. W., R.A., 335.

Cookson, glass works of, 114.
Coombe, George, 263.
Coram, Mr., 132.
Costello, Mr., 144.
Counsel and advice, printed
board of, in Greenwich Hos-
pital, 80.
Coxwell, Mr., aeronaut, the,

378.
Crawhall, Mr. William, 227.

Creswell, Mr. Justice, 111.

Crispin, St., festival of,
18.

Cruddace, William, 236.

Cruikshank, George, 356.

Cubitt, Mr. William, 183.

Curfew at Newcastle - on -
Tyne, 30.

of the Danish watch-
man, 374.

Curiosities of London, 81.

Curry, Mr. William, 302.

Mr. John, 302.

D.

Dalton, Mr., 10.
Dr. John, founder of

atomic theory, 110,111,126,

192.
Daniell, Professor, 110.
Darwin, Charles, 170, 256.

Erasmus, 256.

Daubeny, Professor, 187, 188,

189.
Davidson, Mr., 46.
Davis, Mr., 94.
Davison, Mr., 81, 131, 186.
Davy, Sir Humphry, 126.

burial-place of, 365.

Dean, Forest of, the, 95.
commissioner f 01*, for the

Crown, 139.

388

INDEX.

Dean Forest, rights of, 201.

Dees, Mr., 305.

Delane, Mr., editor of the

Times, 311.
Delemaine, Mr., 227.
Dell, Mr., 247.
Deschanips, Mons., 220.
Diary of fifty-seven years, 9-

12, 360.
Dickens, Mr. Charles, works of,

117.
Dickenson, Miss Mary, Mr.

Sopwith's marriage to, 43.

death of, 46.

Dickinson, Mr. Joseph, 14, 21,

25.
Dideon, M., 258.
Dinner, a memorable, 111.
Disraeli, Mr. B., 277.
Dixon, Mr. W. Hepworth,

works of, 117.
Dobson, Mr. Thomas, 3, 253.
Donkin, Mr., 125, 134, 192,

207, 235, 236, 305.
Douglas, Rev. Henry, 186.
Drawings of Mr. Ruskin,

163.
isometrical and perspec-
tive, 85, 102-3.
Drury Lane Theatre, 60, 61.
Duke, Sir James, 232, 263.
Dunbar, Mr., 84.
Duncan, Dr., of Ruthwell, 195.
Duncannon, Lord, 87, 186.
Dunn, Mr. Thomas, 136.

Dunraven, Lord, v. Mr.

Malins, 226.
Durham, assizes at, 17.

Bishop of, 95, 96.

Earl of, 112.

Rev. Mr., 279.

Dyer, Dr., of Newcastle, 31.

E.

Ear lobe, the, Prof. Lay cock

on, 376.
Egypt, tour to, 259.
Electoral methods, a new plan

for elections, 99.
Elkington, Mr., 110.
Elliot, Mr. G. — Sir George—

321.
Ellison, Mr., 67.
Emperor of Russia, the, 112,

113, 180.
Empress of Russia, the, 180.
Energy and genius, thoughts

on, 353, 355.
Engineer, civil, work as a, 85.
Engineers, Institute of Civil,

the, election to, as member

of, 88.
Enniskillen, Earl of, 177.
Exeter Hall, Mr. Spurgeon at,

282.
Exhibition of 1862, the Na-
tional, 290.

INDEX.

389

F.

Facts, social, 29.
Faiiburn, Mr.— Sir W. Fair-
burn — 182.
Fairfax, Sir William, 348.
Faraday, Professor, 170, 232,

240, 242, 243, 274, 295,

312.
Farrer, Mr. James Wilson,

190, 191.
Fearon, Mr., 197, 202, 207,

208, 212, 217, 221.
Fenwick, Mr. Percival, 67,

78.

Mr. Thomas, 117.

Field, Mr. Cyrus, 292, 344.
Fisher, Mr. and Mrs., 300.
Fishermen, the, 280.
Fitzroy, Captain — Admiral —

3, 6, 7, 246.
Fitzwilliam, Lord, 186, 187,

188, 189.
Flanders, railways in, 221.
Flodclen Field, a visit to, 40,

41.
Folgoet, church of Fool of the

Forest at, 370.
Forbes, Professor E., 362.
Forebodings, 49.
Forster, Mr. Frank, 226.
Forsyth, Mr., 85.
Fothergill, Mr., 305.
Fox, Lady Mary, 268.
Freiberg, mining at, 367.

Froude, Mr. A., works of,
117.

Fryer, Mr., 113.

Funeral of Mr. R. Stephen-
son, 270, 271.

G.

Gardiner, Mr., 131, 132.

Genius and energy, thoughts

on, 353-355.
Geology, father of, the, Dr.

William Smith, 119.
Geological models, paper on,

183.
George III., jubilee of, 350.
Gibbon and Lausanne, 364.
Gibson, Messrs. T. and P.,

305.
Gilbert, Dr. Davies, 124.
Gilchrist, Mr. Robert, 85.
Gilpin, Mr., on forest scenery,

116.
Glacial theory, the, 361-363.
Gladstone, Dr., 345.
Glaisher, Mr. James, 4, 246,

253, 254, 278, 284, 378.
Goldsmidt, Madame — Jenny

Lind— 273.
Gossett, Sir William, 171.
Graham, Mr. Peter, 311.
Grainger, Mr., 109, 113.
Gray, Mr., governor of the

gaol, Newcastle, 85.

390

INDEX.

Great Western Steamboat'

Hancock, Mr. John, 172.

building of the, 182, 183.

Happiness, how to obtain it,

Green, Rev. Robert, 88.

141, 142.

Greenough, Mr., 169.

Harcourt, Rev. William Ver-

Greenwich Hospital, 79.

non, 118.

Gregory's "Mathematics," 116.

Harford, Davies, k Co., 182.

Grenville, Lord, 126.

Harris, Dr. G., F.S.A., 353.

Grey, Hon. and Rev. Edward,

Harrison, Mr. J., 190.

72, 73.

" Harrogate Well Case," the,

Mr. John, 225.

110.

Sir George, 352.

Hartwell House, 1, 2, 246,

Grieg, Mrs., 324.

252.

Griffiths, Sir Richard John,

meteorological observa-

author of land- valuation of

tory at, 256.

Ireland, 147.

Harvey, Sir Wilham, 186.

Guild day at Newcastle- on-

Hasleton, Mr., 156.

Tyne, 30.

Hatherley, Lord, 119.

Hawes, Mr., M.P., 171.

Hawick, 33.

Hawthorn, Mr. William, 114.

H.

Hedley, Captain Wilham, 23,

24.
Rev. Anthony, 46, 89.

Haliburton, Mr. Justice, 169.

Hall, Professor Rasil, 186.

Heneage, Mr. and Mrs.,

Mr. and Mrs. S. 0., 253,

180.

289.

Hereford, the Dean of, death

golden wedding of, the,

of, 313.

352.

Hervey, Mr. and Mrs., 144.

Mr. James, marriage of,

Hey wood, Mrs., 291.

291.

Hill, Mr. Rowland — Sir Row-

Hamilton, Sir William, 156.

land Hill, 211.

Charles William, Esq.,

Mr. Julian, 309.

156.

Mr. Arthur, 309.

Rev. G. W., of Rerwick,

Hodgson, Rev. John, 47, 89.

279.

Hodgson, Mr., 223, 224, 229.

INDEX.

39i

Holland, Dr., 171.

Frederick, Esq., 278.

Hooker, Sir William Jackson,
127, 184.

Hooper, Mr. William, 266,
292, 344.

electric cable of, 345.

Hope, Professor, 34, 35.

Horton, Mr. Samuel, 2.

Hospital, Greenwich, 78.

House, East India, 82.

of Commons, Strangers'

Gallery, 67.

Howson, Mr., 189.

Hudson, Mr. George, "rail-
way king," the, 265.

Hulme Abbey, the, 41.

Humboldt, Baron, 368.

Hunt, Mr. Holman, 328,
348.

Hunterian Museum, 169.

Hutton, Mr., 113.

Mr. Robert, M.P., 169,

170.

Hydro-electrical machine, 191.

Illingworth, Mr., 239.
Illness of Mr. Sopwith, 26, 27.
Institution of Civil Engineers,
election as member of, 224.
Introduction, personal, a, 1-3.

Italy, a tour in, 326-328.
Ireland and the Irish, account

of, 146-161.
Irish scenery, 151.

institutions, 153.

hospitality, 155.

national character, 157.

Church, 159.

Church, disestablishment

of the, 161.
Irving, Washington, works of,

116,117.
Irwin, Rev. Mr., 279.
Isometrical drawings, 85,

102-3.
Ivy, as an ornament to walls,

42.

Jackson, Mr., 189.

Johnson, Mr. George, 94, 109.

Johnstone, Professor, chemist,

110.
Mr. John, of Edinburgh,

110.
Jones, Mr. Owen, 311.

Dr. Pence, 312, 379.

Jordon, Mr., experiments of,

172, 184.
Joyce, Rev. James Wayland,

343.
Jukes, Mr., geologist, 169.-

392

INDEX.

K.

Kay, Dr. — Sir Kay-Shuttle-

worth, Bart.— 177.
Kean, Edmund, at Drury

Lane, 59.
Keats, John, 240.
Kennard, Rev. George, 167.
Kennedy, Mr., Manchester,

192.
Kent, Duchess of, the, 131.
Ker, Mr., 132, 170.
King of the French, the —

Louis XYIIL, 249.
Kingsley, Rev. C, works of,

117. '
Kitson, Mr., 353.
Kolman, Mr., 167.

Ladies as violinists, 143.
Lambert, Mr. Richard, 236.
Lansdowne, Marquis of, 182.
Laplace and Mrs. Somerville,

323.
Lay cock, Professor, 376.
Lee, Dr. John, 1, 2, 5, 7, 246,

256, 377.

Mrs., 246.

Mr., 133.

Leeds, electioneering at, in

1834, description of, 97.
Conservative Club of,

353.

Leigh, Mrs., 180.

Lemon, Sir Charles, 139, 177.

Leonard, Mr. Dennis, of Kil-

rush, 148.
Leopold, King of the Belgians,

the, 202, 212, 213.
Leviathan, ship, 261.
Liddell, Mr., 67, 70.
Liebig, Professor, 187, 188,

189.
Lindisfarne, Ven. Archdeacon

of, 323.
Lithography, specimens of, 75.
Livingstone, Dr., 260.
Llandaff, Dean of — Dean

Conybeare, 231.
Locke, Dr. — Chemist — 124.

Mr., M.P., 258.

Locker, Mr., 80, 81.
Locomotion, rapid, 215.
London, first visit to, a, 51-57.

sixty years ago, 58.

Northumbrian's, a, first

view of, 58.

theatre (Drury Lane), 6 1 .

Londonderry, Lord, 112.
Lothian, Marchioness of, 180.
Loudon, Miss, 180.
Mr. John Claudius, 195,

196.
Louis XVIII., 5, 247, 248.
Lover, Mr. Samuel, 156.
Lowndes, Rev. Mr., 247,

254.
Lowrey, Mr. Alexander, 279.

INDEX.

393

Lowther, Lord, 69.

Lyell, Mr. Charles — Sir

Charles— 179, 180, 355.
Lytton, Sir Bulwer — Lord

Lytton — works of, 117.
Luce, Mr. William Hollis,

marriage of, 328.

M.

McAdam, Mr., 18, 224, 319.
Macaulay, Lord, works of, 117.
Macbeth, Mr., of Innes, 156.
Machine, calculating, the, 171.
Mackay, Mr., 146, 156, 307.
Macneil, Mr. J., 186.
Macready, Mr., tragedian, 171.
Makon, Mrs., 155.
Mainzer, Mr., 235.
Majoribanks, Lady, 179.
Marcet, Mrs., 170.
Marshall, Mrs., a mechum,295.
Martin, Jonathan, 43, 44.

William, 45.

John, artist, 46, 108.

Masni, Mr., 219, 220.
Mechi, Mr. Alderman, 263.
Medal, Telford, reception of

the, 193.
Mennell, Mr., 279.
Menteith, Sir Charles, 351.
Messiter, Miss Lydia Gertrude,

313.
Meteorological observations,

278-280.

Metternich, Prince, 134.

Milne, Mr. A., 86, 132, 186,
207.

Milton, Lord and Lady, 179.

Mines, School of, commence-
ment of the, in London, 123.

Models, geological, paper on,
183.

Monocleid, the — a writer's
cabinet — 137.

Monroe, Lady, 171.

Montford, John de, 371.

Montpensier, Duke and
Duchess of, 293.

Moorsom, Captain, 178.

Morley, Mr. John, 353.

Morton, Mr., 112.

Murchison, Sir Roderick, 169.

Murray, Mr. J., 186.

Mr. Ralph, 283.

Museum, British, the, 73.

N.

Naples, King of, 328.

Napoleon I., 5.

National Repository of Arts,

77.

School, the, 315.

Nelson, Admiral, sarcophagus

of, 71.
Newcastle, Corporation of, 13,

14, 21.

394

INDEX.

18.

86.

Newcastle, assize at, 17.

church bells at, 30.

Duke of Wellington at,

Ctrl
A I .

festival of St. Crispin at,

to London, 50.

first lighting by gas of,

vicar of, 285.

as a railway centre, 109.

pocket guide-book to,

137.
Newman, Mr., 182.
Newton, Mr., 119.
Nichol, Professor, 45, 172.

Mr. Anthony, 136.

Nightingale, Lady, 62.
North, Christopher (Professor

Wilson), 35, 37.
Northampton, Marquis of,

169, 170, 231, 319.
Northumberland, Duke of, 42,

180, 279, 287.

Duchess of, 180.

Norway, tour through, 239.
Nova Scotia, Gold Fields of,

the, 321.
Nugent, Lady, 171.

<).

Ogle, Admiral Sir Charles and
Lady, 171.

Ord, Mr., 67, 81, 182, 186,

224, 307.
Owen, Professor, 169, 186,

232.

Robert, 133, 134, 172.

Mr., of the Board of

Works, 156.
Mr., of Limerick, 156.

Oxford, a day at, 165.

Christ's College, resi-
dence of Dr. Bucklancl,
124.

Pakington, Sir John, 312.
Paletot, M., engineer, 258.
Palmerston, Lord, 290.
Paper, price of, 28.
Parliament, New Houses of,

145.
Parsey, Mr., 163.
Party politics, reflections on,

321.
Passion Play, the, 333.
Pattinson, Mr., 112, 133.
Paxton, Mr. Joseph, 232.
Pearson, Dr., 250.
Peel, Sir Robert, 179, 231.

Lady, 179.

Penn, William — son of famous

William Pemr — mansion of

at Portland Bill, 102.

INDEX.

395

Penny postage, 309.
Perigal, Mr., 246, 284.
Pernez, Captain, 203.
Phillips, Professor John, 103,

104, 110, 116, 169, 186,

232.

Sir Thomas, 276.

Photography, early, the,

255.
Pickman, Mr., 294.
Picton, Sir Thomas, 205.
Piddington, Mr., 205, 217.

Mrs., 205.

Pillans, Professor, 51, 89,

235.
Playfair, Professor Lyon — Sir

Lyon Playfair— 187, 188,

189.
Ponsonby, Sir William, 205.
Pope, the, 327.
Popple-will, Captain, 279.
Portland Bill, visit to,

102.
Potter, Cipriani, 118, 123,

127.
Miss Anne, Mr. Sop-

with's marriage with,

632.
Mr. Edward, memorial

to, 338, 339.
Pratt, Mr., 81.
Prest-wich, Mr. and Mrs.,

346.
Probyn, Mr., 140, 143, 199.
Probyn, Mrs., 143.

Provis, Mr., 123.
Public Health, Journal of,
114.

Q.

Queen Victoria at Guildhall
on Lord Mayor's Day, 1837,
129.

royal procession of, 131.

opening of her first par-

liament, 132.

E.

Railwray, Newcastle and Car-
lisle, opening of the, 135.

atmospheric, the, 211.

early travelling by, 87.

Rainfall, calculations on, 257.

Ramsay, Mr. James, 126, 127,
291.

Ravensworth Castle, 27.

Lord, 125.

Reade, Rev. J. B., F.R.S., 5,
104, 246, 253, 254, 255.

Mrs., 246.

Recreation, views on, 197.

Redy, Mr., 295.

Reid, Dr. Boswell, 89, 138,
179.

396

INDEX.

Reminiscences, 185, 296,

317,

S.

343.

Reinagle, Mr., 125.

Sabine, General Sir Edward,

Rendel, Mr. J., 186.

295, 340.

Rennie, Mr. George, 169

Sample, Mr., 20.

Sir John, 261.

Saussure, Professor, 362.

Retrospect, a, 261.

Scauler, Dr., 156.

Rkeims, Archbishop of, 248.

Scent pot, receipt for, 31.

Rice, Mr. Spring, 147.

School of mines, commence-

Richards, Mr. William P

any,

ment of, in London, 123.

221.

Scotland, visit to, 32.

Richardson, Mr. T. M., house

Scott, Sir Walter, 33, 37, 42,

of, 20.

83, 203, 372-374.

Mr. M. A., 23.

Mr. Joseph, 121.

Mr. R. S., 67.

Mr. Benjamin, 217.

Mr. Moses, 197.

Mr. John, 70.

Dr. B. W., F.R.S.,

253,

Miss, 70.

359.

Ridley, Sir M. W., 67.

Mr., 305.

Rifle volunteers at Allen-
heads, 277.

Rively, Mr., 191.

Rivers, Lord, 179.

Robertson, Mr. and Mrs., 179.

Robinson, Mr., 321.

Rolle, Lady, 179.

Roman Wall, the, 89.

Rothschild, Mrs., 171.

Routledge, Mr., 311.

Ruskin, Mr. John, 162, 163,
165, 166, 192, 196.

Russia, food resources of, the,
114.

mineral wealth of, 115.

Miss Jane, Mr. Sopwith's

marriage with, 83.

Sedgwick, Rev. Prof., 169.

Sefton, Earl of, 268.

Seymour, N., 94.

Shadforth, George, 114.

Shaftesbury, Lord, 78.

Shaw, Dr., 27.

Shelford, Mr. William, mar-
riage of, 291.

Miss Catherine Susan,

335.

Shelley, Sir John, 171, 266.

Lady, 171.

Shepherd, Lady Mary, 171.

Shuttle worth, Mr., 211.

Sillick, Mr., 266, 307.

Simpson, Robert, 307.

INDEX.

397

Skelton, Mr., 184.
Smart, Sir George, 121.
Smiles, Dr. S., 270.
Smith, Mr. William, 94, 369.
Dr. William (father of

English geology), 110, 111,

119, 127.
Eev. Sydney, 171.

Smyth, Captain, 249.

Admiral, 247, 248.

Mrs., 248.

Mr. W. Warrington,

(Sir W. Warrington Smyth),
299.

Soane, Sir John, 105.
Social facts, 29.
Societies, benefit, 303.
Somerville, Mrs., 127, 128,

129, 248, 333.
Letter to, 335.

- Death of, 341.
Miss, 341.

Sopwith, Mr. Arthur, marriage
of, 335.

Mr, Jacob, 17 ; illness and

death of, 48.

■ Jacob, junr., 47, 307.

James, 77.

Mr. Thomas, at Hart-
well Park, 2-8, 246-56.

diary of, from 1822 to

1879, 9.

birth and early life of, 13.

admitted burgess of

Newcastle, 13.

Sopwith, Mr. Thomas, first

appearance as an author, 22.

severe illness of, 26.

visit to Scotland of, 33.

marriage of, 43.

death of wife of, 46.

first visit to London of,

51 to 56.
travelling expenses to

London of, 56, 57.

second marriage of, 83.

illness of, 84.

elected member of Insti-
tute of Civil Engineers, 88.
another journey to

London of, 117.
first visit to Ireland of,

146, 147.
death of Mary Jane,

daughter of, 192.
Telford medal received

by, 193.
visit to Belgium of,

202.
visit to Field of Waterloo,

205.
Royal Society, admitted

Fellow of, 222.
visit to the Duke of

Argyle of, 238.

— illness and death of
second wife of, 240.

— tour to Egypt of, 258.

— resignation of agency at
Allenheads by, 260.

398

INDEX.

Sopwith, Mr. Thomas, degree

Sopwith, Mr. Thomas, mar-

of M.A. by Durham Uni-

riage of Ursula, daughter

versity conferred upon, 261.

of, 359.

change of residence, 261.

failing health of, 360.

third marriage of, 263.

end of the diary of, 361.

residence at Allenheads

last illness and death of,

resumed by, 276.

375, 380.

United Kingdom Alli-

Thomas, junr., birth of,

ance Meeting, chair taken

265, 296 ; marriage of, 313.

by, 281.

Soul Bell, the, at Newcastle-

marriage of Isabella and

on-Tyne, 30.

Anna, daughters of, 291.

Spaight, Mr., of Limerick, 156.

visits to France and

Spanish bull fight, 293.

Spain of, 293.

Spirit rapping, 295.

return to residence in

Spurgeon, the Eev. C. H., 282.

London of, 296.

Stable, Mr., 305.

twenty years' reminis-

St. Aldegonde, Count, 112,

cences of mining life by,

113.

296.

Stamp duty, 28.

sixty-third birthday of,

Stanley, Dean, 348, 355, 358.

310.

St. Paul's Cathedral, 63, 64.

visit to Isle of Thanet,

St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, and

320.

Puseyism, 229.

memoranda of forty-

Statistical accounts, 28, 29.

seven New Years' days by,

Statistics of tea, 31.

325.

Steel, Mr., 228, 243.

marriage of Emily,

Stephens, Mr. Henry, 240.

daughter of, 328.

Stephenson, Robert, 6, 176,

presentation made to,

185, 186, 211, 212, 239,

330.

240, 259.

marriage of Arthur, son

George, 6, 138, 188,

of, 335.

212, 217, 219, 232, 240.

tour through Norway,

Sterne, estimation of works

Sweden, and Denmark of,

and sermons of, 116.

347.

Stone, vicarage of, 5.

INDEX.

399

Stoughton, Dr., 358.

Thornton, Mr. Roger, 23.

Strikes, Anatomy of, 311.

Topham, Mr., 73.

Sudeley, Lord, 186.

Tower of London, the, 82.

Surtees, Mr., 86, 93, 96,

Travelling, love of, 167.

224.

Tienchard, Mr., 147.

Sussex, Duke of, 131.

Trevelyan, Mr. Calverly,

Swanage, visit to, 101.

230.

Swinbourne, Sir John, 47, 81,

Treves, Roman baths and

224.

masonry at, 365.

Edward, 318.

Trevithick, Richard, and steam

Symons, Jelinger, 254.

carriage to London in early

part of nineteenth century,

57.

Tripe, Dr., 284.

T.

Tunnel, Box, the, 324.

Turner, Rev. Robert, 50.

Talbot, Mr., 170.

Tyndall, Professor, 312, 362.

Talebot, Mons. Paulin, 329.

Tynemouth, Mayor of, 279.

Tate, Mr., death of, 337.

Taylor, Mr. John, 48, 167,

177, 232, 296, 319.

Tea, statistics of, in 1669,

U.

1678, 1700, 1721, 1816,

showing increase of con-

United Kingdom Alliance,

sumption of, 31.

foundation of, 218.

Telegraph, electric, the, 283,

284.

Telford, Mr., 19, 88, 267, 319.

Thackeray, Mr., works of,

V.

117.

Theatre, Drury Lane, the, 60.

Vanderhorf, Mr., tragedian,

Thermo-barometer, Ronketti's,

33.

181.

Vaughan, Mr. George, 268.

Thompson, Mr., 331.

Vincent, Lady, 171.

Sir William, 345.

Violinists, ladies as, 143.

400

INDEX.

w.

Wilson, Professor, 34, 35, 36,

38.
Mr. James, 38.

Wales, Prince of, 214, 333.

Walker, Mr. James, 139, 186,

Mr. R. P., 67.

207, 208.

Mr. Thomas, 184.

Wall, Roman, the, 89, 290.

Windsor Castle, 88.

Walton, Mr. Jacob, 301.

Wiseman, Cardinal, 291,

Wardle, Mr., 113.

Wolsey, tomb of, 72.

Warr, Lord cle la, 336.

Wood, Mr. Nicholas, 109, 138,

Watson, Sir Thomas, 287.

295.

Watt, James, 6, 368.

G. W., M.P., 170.

Webster, Mr. Benjamin, 237.

Woodall, Mr., Junr., of Scar-

Wellington, Duke of, 78, 132,

borough, 285.

205.

Work as a civil engineer, 85.

Werner, the grave of, 368,

Working men in Parliament,

369.

352.

Wesley, Rev. John, the, 18.

Wren, Sir Christopher, 70.

West, Mr., of Leeds, 110, 111,

Wright, Mr. William, 14.

187.

Westmacott, Mr., 182.

Y.

Weymouth, visit to, 102.

Yevering Bell, 40.

Wheatstone, Professor, 1 70,

York Minster, burning of, 43.

263, 284.

Yorkshire, tour in, with Dr.

Whewell, Rev. Prof., 126, 186.

Buckland, 189.

Whitworth, Sir Joseph, 13.

Wilkie, Sir David, 171.

Z.

Williamson, Sir H., 321.

Zimmeimann on solitude, 116.

Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.

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